Summer Heat
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Things are heating up between Owen and Annabel. Too bad her father's there every step of the way to cool them down. Can he really stop them though? Follows Wants and Needs
1. Chapter 1

Summer Heat

Chapter 1

Owen could spot the man anywhere. Andrew Greene wasn't really a dominating presence, but he had been a constant one in Owen's life the past few months. Well, except for the past three weeks and two days. Other than that.

"Hello, Owen."

He nodded at the other guy. He hadn't really said anything to him since that day, back before school let out, when Andrew had slapped his daughter. He had yet to really forgive him for that.

"So I suppose Annabel wanted you to meet her here too," Andrew said, looking around the airport. They were standing near baggage claim, waiting for the girl in question to show up. Not to mention her mother, who had gone down there a week ago as her own, mini-vacation. Owen wasn't really concerned with Grace's return to Lakeview though, only Annabel's.

"Yeah."

Andrew smiled then, but it didn't reach his eyes. He had gone three weeks without his daughter. Really, it had been three weeks without his wife too, who he hadn't seen since then. Whitney had been the one to take Grace to the airport, so he hadn't even spoken to her. He didn't find it fair that this boy could just barge in on their family moment. And why? Because his daughter was dating him? Pah.

Owen, who was now focusing on watching for his girlfriend, ignored the other man. He didn't care what he thought of him. He knew that there was no doubt his girlfriend's father was jealous. It wasn't Owen's fault though, that he was so much more important to the man's daughter. He couldn't help it.

The moment of truth came for both guys though, when they could both finally spot the girl, walking with her mother towards them. Her hair was darker, but both were expecting this after she had told them so over the phone. Still, it was quite a shock for both of them, especially Owen, who only knew her as a blonde. Andrew though had seen her dye her hair once, long ago, when she was in the seventh grade. She was still both their girl though, as each could tell from the way she carried herself and how her blue eyes shined when she spotted them.

The closer she got, the straighter Andrew stood, prepared for her to hug him. Owen though just smiled, watching her. Neither thought for a second that she would go to the other first. Only one of them could be right.

"Owen!"

He just laughed slightly, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she did the same to him. "Hi, Bella."

"God, it feels like it's been forever." She laughed slightly as she pulled back. Owen kept his hands on her though, reaching out to tuck some hair behind one of her ears. She had some new earrings in, which she had sent him a picture of a few days ago. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Owen said, laughing slightly again.

Grace, who had come up after her daughter, just sighed as she went to her husband's side. "Don't look so down, Andrew. He's all she's thought about."

That didn't make him feel any better, but given the circumstances, he figured that was his wife's plan. Andrew just cleared his throat before saying, "So did you want me to take you back home, Grace, or are you going to stay with Whitney?"

She just shook his head at him, not getting a chance to answer as her daughter chose then to speak.

"Dad, Owen wants to take me out to dinner," she said, interlacing her fingers with her boyfriend's. "Is that okay?"

Andrew frowned. "Well, your mom and I planned to have dinner at home. Whitney's coming home and was going to make-"

"Please?" She was staring up at him now, her blue eyes fading back to their innocent look. "I haven't seen him in forever."

She hadn't seen Andrew in forever either. Still, he just swallowed before saying, "That's fine, I suppose. Come on, Grace, let's go get the bags. Don't stay out too late."

"We won't."

Still, Andrew at least thought Annabel would hug him. Something. Instead she just pulled Owen along, headed out of the airport with her willing boyfriend. Again, Owen couldn't blame him for being jealous. He had held the spot of the most important guy in Annabel's life for a long time, after all. Still, Owen was king now and he didn't feel like vacating that spot any time soon.

* * *

"Your hair is so different."

Annabel just giggled. "I know. Do you like it?"

"I like you."

"I know that, but did you like it better before?"

"I don't know. It's still you, huh? It's just like if I always wore sunglasses and one day I didn't. You'd still like me, huh?"

"No."

"Bella."

She just squealed as she squirmed away from him. Owen pressed harder though, pinning her under him with all his might.

"I love you," he told her, staring down into her eyes. They were at his house, alone, trying to relax after dinner. Neither could accomplish that though as all their energy suddenly sprang up, both overly excited to see the other. "Blonde, brunette, black, red, green, white, blue, whatever. You're still my Bella."

Annabel leaned up slightly, kissing his lips gently. When she laid back though, she just said, "I thought about you all the time. You'd have liked New York."

"I'm sure," he agreed, moving now to laying down on the bed. To accomplish this, he moved slightly down her body until his head was pressed into her stomach. Nuzzling it slightly, he said, "Tell me about your trip."

"What's there to tell you, Bear?" She reached down, running a hand over the back of his head. "I called you everyday, we talked online, I sent pictures. You know everything."

"And? Tell me again." He pushed her shirt now so that he could rest his head on her flesh. "I need to hear it again."

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking down now.

"Tattoo checking. Roll over."

"Don't you think if I got a tattoo, I'd have mentioned it by now?"

"No. I don't know. You lie a lot."

"Not a lot."

"Some."

"Some," she agreed. "Now stop it."

He just pressed another kiss against her flat stomach before looking up at her. "You can't leave me again. I hardly survived."

"I bet you survived just fine."

"No."

"You went to see your dad, right?"

"And it sucked. Big time."

"Oh, Bear."

"I'm not kidding. It did. I hated it. I never want to be without you for so long again."

"You're so clingy."

"That's 'cause I love you so much."

"Is it?"

"Yeah."

Running a hand down his head, she asked, "What if I told you I lost your Ipod?"

"What?"

She giggled from the way he glared at her. "It was with my stuff, Bear. I'm just kidding. It's at home now, with my bags."

"Oh." He pressed his head back into my stomach. "Good."

"You wouldn't have forgiven me?"

"I'd have forgiven you. I'd have been mad, but I'd have forgiven you."

"I'd have bought you a new one, silly."

"Yeah, with all that doe you pull in from your job."

"Rude," she told him. "I would have asked Dad to buy it."

'Yeah, I know."

"It was still rude."

He kissed her stomach again. "Let me kiss it and make it better."

"Mmmm."

Then, suddenly, Owen pushed himself up once more before scaling her body. Once their eyes were level, he asked, "So what'd you do for three weeks without me?"

"I've told you everything."

"That's not what I mean." He lowered himself carefully before running a hand down her stomach and to the front of her jeans. "At all."

She blushed then, looking off. He just laughed as he kissed her head.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? At all?" He kissed her neck. "I did a lot while you were gone."

"A lot?"

"Mmmhmm. That's about normal for me though."

"God, you're weird."

"Just in love with you." Her cheek got a kiss this time as he worked her zipper down. "Not that you being here or not has much affect on what I do."

Annabel was still looking off. "You're the one that's never lets me-"

"Shhh." Owen shifted off her slightly now so he was resting on his side. He knew if he moved even an inch to the left, he'd fall off the bed, but figured he wouldn't need to be moving much anyways. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"I love you."

"I-"

He kissed her lips this time, silencing whatever she was planning to reply. When he pulled away, he just left his head pressed against hers, watching her eyes.

"You look different, you know."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. Not just your hair either. You look…I don't know."

"Maybe you just don't remember me like you were supposed to."

"Nope. I remember you." When she turned her head to face his, he rubbed their noses together. "Bella."

"Bear."

"You're still beautiful."

"Thank you," she whispered, letting out a breath as he finally slipped his hands under her shorts. "Owen…"

That was it though as far as their talking went. For a little while anyways.

"Was that okay?"

"Mmmm."

Owen rubbed his head into the side of her neck. "Can I take that for a yes?"

Annabel just turned on her side then, facing him. Reaching out with one hand, she laid it on his arm.

"Bear."

Smiling, he asked, "What?"

She just shook her head though before moving closer to him. "Do you want me to-"

"No, Bell. I don't."

Still, she tried doing what he did, i.e. running her hand down his stomach. He grabbed her wrist though before she got very far.

"I said no."

"I can feel you, Owen, against my leg. Why won't you let me-"

"I said no."

"What do you think I'll do, Owen? You touch me. How is this different?" She was blushing though, clearly not wanting to really talk about it. "I have nothing to compare you to, if that's what you're afraid of. I won't…it's not that big of a deal, okay?"

Leaning her head forward, she rested it on his chest. Owen sighed as he let go of her hand. She didn't try again though, instead just resting her hand against his stomach now.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear before settling on the bed. He was kind of uncomfortable, given that fact that Annabel was right. She could feel him. Still, he figured he could just wait it out, mainly because he didn't feel like moving.

"I know, Bear."

He laughed slightly then. "Tomorrow is the 4th of July."

"I know. Kirsten was so mad that I was leaving before that. I told her I had to though."

"Our concert tickets."

"Yeah."

"You'll love the band."

She made a noise in the back of her throat.

"Well, you'll tolerate them. For me."

"Always for you."

He let out a long breath. "Rolly's going."

Against his shirt she asked, "What'd about Clarke?"

"They're-"

"Again?"

"Well, for now."

"He's not bringing someone, is he?" Annabel removed her head from his chest, looking up at him now. "'cause I don't feel like pretending to like her."

"It'll just be the three of us, Bell."

"That's almost just as bad," she complained lightly as she rested her head against him once more.

"Yeah, I know. He's my friend though," Owen said in a 'What can I do' kind of way.

"I know. Your best friend."

"Something like that." Closing his eyes, Owen asked, "Do you want to go home now or-"

"No," she told him. "I want to stay here with you a little longer. Then we can go back to my house. I'll give you all the stuff I brought back for you."

"Mmmm. I got you something too, while I was in Arizona."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Just a new necklace."

"A necklace?"

"Yeah," he sighed, reaching out to rub his index finger across her lips. He could feel some gloss come off on his finger. "I saw it when I was in a store and thought of you. It's these little angel wings."

"Aw."

"It'll look nice on you."

"You think that everything looks nice on me."

"That's 'cause it does."

"Mmm, Bear."

"You want it?" Owen stood up then, adjusting himself when he was fiannly turned away from her. "It's over here."

Going over to his desk, Owen pulled a little jewelry box out of a grocery bag. "Here you go."

Sitting up, Annabel took it from him, frowning slightly. "This looks expensive."

"Not really." He shrugged before sitting down next to her on the bed. "Do you like it?"

Opening the box, she slowly lifted the necklace out. "Yes. I do. Where did you get it?"

"The mall. My dad wanted me out of the house, so he sent me to the mall." Owen took it from her. "You wanna wear it?"

She nodded making him smile. "I'd love to."

"Here." Shifting on the bed, Owen pushed her hair to one side of her neck, not yet used to the new coloring. "You said Kirsten dyed her hair too?"

"Black."

"Oh." He kissed her neck before putting the necklace on her. "Good?"

She held the little wings in her hand as he snapped the clasp in place. "It's so cute. Thank you, Bear."

He moved to sit with his back against the wall before pulling her into his lap. She rarely sat in his lap, but that was mainly because there was no reason to usually. He liked it though, when she did sit in his lap. She always seemed to aware of her movements and hardly ever squirmed. That was probably for the best in most cases.

"What'd you get me?"

"CDs," she told him as she wrapped an arm around his neck. "A t-shirt too."

"You know my size?"

"Huge?"

"Ha."

"The guys that Kirsten kept trying to set me up with were freaking twigs," she said, poking his stomach. "It was kind of funny."

"I don't think it's funny."

"Oh, Bear. It's not that serious. She just thinks that I shouldn't-"

"I don't care what she thinks. That disrespectful to our relationship."

"Bear," she sighed, turning in his lap to face him. "Pay attention to me. Huh?"

It almost felt sinful, making out with her. It was something about her hair and the way she had been acting. It was almost like this wasn't Annabel at all.

"New York made you bolder," Owen sighed as she pulled away, resting her head against his shoulder now. "You know that?"

"Maybe Arizona just made you more timid."

"I doubt it."

"I don't feel different."

"Maybe I'm just feeling weird about you being back." Owen slipped his hand up the back of her shirt. "I know it hasn't been that long, but it feels like it. I really did miss you, Bell."

"I missed you too, Bear."

"Even with all those hot guys you were with in New York?"

"You mean the twigs?" She reached out with both hands, holding his face in them. "I wouldn't be interested in them whether you were here or not."

"Well, that's a blatant lie. You'd naturally want to get to know the other guys and you might even have liked one of them. Who knows? Who cares?" He watched her eyes as his hands made it to the hooks of her bra. "You're mine, aren't you?"

Annabel stared at him, not even flinching as he started to mess with back of her bra. "Only if you're mine."

* * *

"You suck at taking off a bra."

"In my defense, I had never tried that before." Owen kept tapping out a beat on his steering wheel. "I'm just glad you didn't freak out this time."

"I let you…touch me, Owen. Like really touch me. My boobs are nothing now."

"Then why couldn't I take your shirt off?"

"Why can't I take your pants off?"

"You could."

"Oh, whatever. You don't even let me touch you."

Owen glanced over at her. "Can we not talk about this right now?"

Shrugging, she leaned against the car window. "God, it's good to be back home."

"You haven't even gotten to your house yet," he pointed out.

"Just being in Lakeview is nice."

"So…where does everything stand with your parents now that you're going back home?"

She didn't even look at him. "I heard Kirsten and Mom talking. Mom said that he says that it wasn't even serious, that it was just a thing, something to do. I don't know though. Mom's hurt. And Kirsten is pissed at him. They were fighting before, about the wedding, but God, now they're-"

"That wedding's still going on?"

She nodded slightly. "Yeah. I met Brian's parents while I was down there."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They were nice, I guess."

"You guess?"

Shrugging, Annabel said, "I just don't think she should get married so soon, you know?"

"They've been together a couple of months now."

"I know, but…I wouldn't marry a guy unless I knew him for at least a year, if not more."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah." She sat up some. "Marriage is serious to me. It's for life. If I'm going to get married, its going to be to someone that I know that I can be with, even if I fall out of love with him later."

"That's deep."

"So is marriage."

"Hmmm."

"Would you marry a girl? If you hadn't known her a year?"

"If I loved her."

"But, Owen," she complained. "You won't love someone for ever."

"I'll love you forever."

"No, Bear, you won't."

He frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that people just don't love each other every single day. There'll be times that you won't love me. You have to know me enough to fight through that."

"I know you. It hasn't been a year."

"You know this me." Annabel looked at him. "We're only in high school."

He frowned. "You spent too much time with Kirsten."

"I'm not saying I don't want to be with you, Owen. I'm just saying I wouldn't want to marry anyone before I'm at least twenty-five."

"What?"

"Yeah." She frowned. "I want to have a good job and be, like, independent already."

"What about kids?"

"What about kids?"

"When would you want kids?"

"Not till I was married for at least two years."

He groaned. "Do all girls have this so mapped out?"

She shrugged. "I just want to wait until I can actually take care of them. And I'd want my husband to have a good job too."

"So not a traveling musician?"

"Bear, you can't even play an instrument yet."

"I'll learn by then."

"Then we won't have kids together. Ever. I wouldn't even marry you."

"Oh, whatever."

"I won't."

He shook his head as we pulled up to my house. "This is a stupid conversation."

"Whatever."

Getting out of the car, he asked, "Where does love fall into your plan? Huh, Annabel?"

"Love is important, Owen, but it's not the most important thing. Commitment is. Don't marry the one you love, love the one you marry."

He snorted. "Divorce happens, Annabel."

"I think it's used to frequently, that's all."

"What if I marry a girl and I don't love her? Huh? Then what? Am I supposed to be unhappy?"

"It depends, Owen. It's a case to case thing. But if you married her and had no plans for what to do when you don't love her and still have to be with her, then yes, be unhappy."

"Whatever."

"You're acting like a dick over a fake marriage that doesn't exist."

"Oh, I'm acting like a dick?"

"Are you saying I am?"

"I'm saying…God, Annabel, only you could fight with me after being away for so freaking long." When they got to the porch, he sat down on steps. "Come here."

Slowly, she sat down next to him. "I'm sorry."

"You apologize too much." He reached over, interlacing their fingers. "I love you, Annabel. And I don't plan on stopping."

"I know, but-"

"There are no buts. I love you." He looked at her then. "Okay?"

"I-"

"Do you know what time it is?"

The two teens looked behind them to see Andrew there, standing in the doorway.

"Uh…" Annabel pulled out her phone, checking the time. "Ten."

"Get inside."

"Dad," she said slowly, standing after disentangling herself from Owen. "My curfew is midnight."

"On a normal night, Annabel."

She glanced at Owen. "How is this not a normal night?"

"You just got home. Did you not think that I would want to see you? Huh?" He crossed his arms. "I think it's about time you went home, Owen."

"Dad, what is your problem?" Annabel frowned. "You're acting like I did something wrong."

"You did," he said. "You came home-"

"Andrew," Annabel heard her mother call from inside the house. "Leave the kids alone. And come in, Owen. Annabel's presents are up in her room. Go on up."

"Mom's home?" Annabel asked, frowning. Andrew looked off then before turning and heading into the house, mumbling something about how they had an hour before Owen had to be out of the house.

"Come on, Bear," Annabel said as he stood. Taking him by the hand, she led him into the house before up the stairs.

"What was his problem?" she asked the second they were up in her room with the door closed. "My God."

"Bella," he sighed, going to sit down on her bed. "He's just upset, you know?"

"Why do I know he's upset?"

"'cause, Bell, me."

"You?" She crinkled her nose before going over to where one of her parents had left her bags on her floor. "What about you?"

"You know, you were all over me at the airport. He was, like, expecting you to hug him or whatever and then you didn't."

"What?"

"Yeah. You could tell. He got upset. He was all flustered and stuff." Owen looked down at his boots, kicking at her carpet. "I should have taken these off at the door. Oops."

"It's okay," Annabel told him, distracted by what he had said previously. "So do you really think that he-"

"I think I'mma take them down stairs," Owen said, slipping them off. "I don't want to, like, track stuff through your mom's house or whatever."

"Owen, it's fine."

"It's not though." He stood then, picking the shoes up. "I'll be right back."

"'kay." She was messing in her bag now, not even looking back at him. "Bring me a bottle of water up, huh?"

"Sure, Bell."

Heading down the stairs, Owen dropped his boots off by the door before going into the kitchen. Andrew was in there, staring into his open fridge.

"While you're here, Owen," he began, not even turning around, "I would like for you to take the Nintendo 64 home with you."

Owen, on edge around the guy after how he flipped out earlier on the porch, just stared at his back for a moment. "You can keep it if you-"

"Grace thinks… We think that perhaps it would be best if you take it back." The man closed the fridge before opening the freezer, quickly pulling out ice cream. "She thinks… We think that perhaps part of my problem is how childlike I have been acting."

Owen, not knowing what to say, just got the bottle of water his girlfriend had asked for before heading back up the stairs.

"Okay, Bear, ready to be amazed? I listened to some of these CDs and others were given to me to give to you from Brian and Kirsten. She knew this one guy in a band that-"

"Your dad creeps me out," Owen interrupted, handing off the bottle of water before going to sit down on the edge of her bed. "He just randomly told me that he wants me to take the 64 back."

"Why?"

"Your mom wants him to do it or something, I guess," he said, shrugging. "That it makes him too childlike."

She just shook her head as she put some CDs in his lap. "Here. All for you."

"Dang." He looked at the ones with cases and the clearly homemade ones. Nodding at her stereo, he asked, "Do you mind?"

"'course, Bear." She went back over to the bag. "Here's your shirt too, by the way."

"Cool," he said, hardly glancing at it as he went to go check out what really mattered; his new CDs.

Annabel rolled her eyes before beginning to unpack her things. "How much do you love me now? You know, now that I brought you music?"

"So much," he mumbled, hardly listening to her. "You're my world."

"Mmmm." She pulled his Ipod out of the bag before setting it on the bed. "There's that, Bear."

"Thanks," he mumbled, not looking to see what she was talking about as he changed songs on the first CD.

"I have never seen you so distracted by a song before. God, I could flash you right now and you wouldn't even care."

"Cool."

"Owen," she complained. "Listen to me. God. You can listen to your music later."

"…What?" He glanced at her now. "What are you talking about, Bell? I didn't-"

"Hear me, I know. Try listening, huh?"

"I'm just…distracted…I guess…" He was facing the stereo now as he changed CDs this time. "Or something…Annabel…"

"You're impossible."

"Cool."

"Whatever," Annabel sighed as she gave up. They were both silent for some time, Annabel even leaving the room a few times to take care of stuff. Owen didn't care though as he stood there, right next to the stereo, listening to his new music. He loved new music. He loved it so much.

"Hour's up."

By this point, Annabel was laying on her bed, on her laptop, while Owen was sitting in front of the stereo, still listening to music. Her father though was now in the doorway, staring at the two of them.

"What, Dad?" Annabel glanced up. "We're not doing anything. He's just-"

"I gave you an hour. It's up. The two of you spent all day together. Goodnight, Owen." Andrew looked at the boy, but he didn't look back at him. "Owen. Owen!"

"…Me? Are you talking me?" Owen glanced over at his girlfriend's father. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"

"Get out. Go get the Nintendo and get out."

He frowned. "…Why? Because the door was closed or-"

"Are you deaf, boy?"

He glanced back at Annabel. "Uh, no. I was-"

"Dad," Annabel sighed, standing. She quickly closed the distance between them before wrapping her arms around her father. He froze up for a second before patting her on the back. "I missed you."

Owen made a face before looking back at the stereo. Let Andrew think he won for the moment. That hug? Only a consolation prize. Owen had already won, back at the airport.

"Well…I just…I missed you too," Andrew said, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry I've been so…I just wanted you to come home tonight. I haven't seen you either, you know."

"I know." She finally let him go, smiling slightly. "I thought that you and I could go out to eat tomorrow. Or do something. Are you off?"

"Yes," Andrew said, glancing over at Owen who was enrapt by his music once more. "I was going to go golfing, but you can come. If you want. The two of us."

"Sure, Dad."

Owen rolled his eyes. Annabel already knew that he was working all day, so he would be unavailable until their concert that night. Still, he figured she wasn't going to let Andrew in on that, if only to let him think that he was scoring out over Owen.

"Then we can go out to eat after, huh?" He patted his daughter on the shoulder before looking at Owen. Hesitating, he said, "You can stay longer if you like, Owen."

He hardly even made a noise of compliance, now back fully into his music. Stay, go, whatever. He just wanted to listen to his music. That's all he ever wanted to do.

…Other than that groping thing Annabel and he had done earlier. That and music. He could live off those. He really could.

* * *

**Told you it wouldn't take long. I honestly love this series. I haven't written this much for some this fast in forever. Not since the Change series for Maximum Ride. Not that any of you care about that, but whatever.**


	2. Chapter 2

Summer Heat

Chapter 2

When Owen pulled up, he found Annabel's father in the driveway, washing his car. He gave a curt wave to Owen before calling out that the door was unlocked; he could just go in. Annabel was up in her room, getting ready.

Nodding at the other man, Owen headed into the house. He had seen Annabel up in her room through the glass front of the house and knew that she was rifling through her drawers for something. Probably her bathing suit.

It was a few days later and Owen was finally getting to use the Greene's pool. It had taunted him for months now, previously because it was too cold and then because, according to Annabel, it was hot out, sure, but not hot enough. It was hot enough now though. Oh, was it hot enough.

"Bella," Owen called as he walked up the stairs. "I'm here."

"Yeah, I know, Bear. I can see your car," she called back to him from her bedroom. When Owen got there, he immediately entered. Annabel glanced at him, taking in his swim shorts and his shirtlessness.

"Those are cute," she told him in a mocking way.

"Yeah, yeah." He went over to her bed and sat down as he slipped the sunglasses over his eyes to the top of his head. "What's taking you so long?"

"I can't find my swimsuit, Bear. God. If it's that important to you, just go down to the pool. I'll be there in a minute."

He hesitated, smelling deception in the air. "Is this a trick?"

She groaned. "Just go."

"Aye-aye." Owen even gave her a little half salute before heading out of her room. "Can I get a coke? Bell?"

"Whatever, Owen."

"Someone's in a bad mood," he mumbled to himself as he headed down the stairs. On the way out to the backyard, he got himself a coke and Annabel a bottle of water. Maybe that was her problem; she'd been drinking too much water and was suffering from soda withdrawals.

Once outside, Owen sat their drinks down on the patio table before jumping into the pool. It felt so good! He hadn't been swimming since he lived in Arizona. He used to love it, when he was a kid. They'd go swimming at the neighborhood pool, him and his little sister. His dad used to go with them. He missed those days.

"What happened to the bathing suit?"

Annabel made a face at Owen as she came to sit at the edge of the pool, resting her feet in the water. Reaching down, she pulled her shirt up to her boobs, showing him the bikini top. "I'm wearing one. I'm just wearing a shirt over."

"And jean shorts." He frowned. "This is not fair."

"No one made you come shirtless, Owen." She had her cell phone in her hand, texting someone. "I don't why, but I always thought you'd be hairy."

"What?"

He was close enough to her now that when she stretched her leg out, she was able to rest her foot on his chest.

"I thought you'd have hair on your chest. I'm kind of shocked you don't," she admitted, leaving her foot where it was. "Other than that, you look about how I imagined. Shirtless."

He just stared at her as she continued texting. "Who's that on the phone?"

"Clarke."

"You tell her that Rolly's coming with that girl?"

"No," Annabel said, looking up at him. "He's bringing a girl?"

"Well, it is a pool party."

"No, it was an Owen and Annabel date."

"It's not a date if we're at your house."

"It is when we're swimming."

"But Bella," he complained, pushing her foot off his chest before moving closer to her. "You're not swimming yet."

"No," she agreed, setting her phone to the side. "And I don't plan to- Owen!"

He had pulled her into the pool, laughing the whole time. Annabel was fighting him then and he let her go as she swam away from him.

"Damn it, Owen!"

He kept laughing. "What? You wanted to swim today."

"You jerk!" Annabel swam over to the edge of the pool, but didn't pull herself onto the ledge. "God. I could have dropped my phone in the water and electrocuted us."

"Yeah, I don't think that's how that works, Bell," he said, moving to get close to her again. She gave him a soft hit against his chest as punishment. Owen just smiled though.

"It does in the movies," she told him as she stroked the spot she had just hit, trying to soothe him probably. "And I would have been pissed if my phone got wet."

"Here." Owen reached out, towards her phone and hit it softly with his hand. The phone skated across the concrete, coming to a stop only when it hit the grass. "There you go. Now there's no chance of that."

"There wasn't a chance before."

He found a new distraction as Annabel's light colored shirt became soaked through, her bikini now showing through.

"Your shirt's wet, Bell."

"No crap, Owen."

"Take it off."

Ignoring him, she turned slightly before using her arms to lift herself out of the pool. Sitting back down on the edge of the pool, she said, "Don't you dare pull me back in."

"That was some impressive upper body strength there, Bella." Owen smiled at her. "You know, I think you're a little bit stronger than I th…"

Annabel giggled at the way he trailed off as he watched her pull her shirt off. "Do what, Bear?"

"I was just…Yellow, huh?" He looked off before back at her.

"Mmmm, this one is kind of old. It was a little small." She looked down at her yellow bikini top. "I think my boobs have grown."

Even though she had said it, she still blushed. Owen just laughed, still slightly nervous.

"Since?"

"Two years ago," she told him as he ran a hand down her leg. The part of the pool they were standing in was shallow enough that he could stand up straight, though his height was even with hers, as she was sitting down.

"Take these off too," Owen whispered in her ear as he got closer to her, now conscious of the fact that Mr. Greene was just in the front yard.

"What?"

"The shorts," he mumbled. "They're wet too, huh?"

"Mmmm." Annabel stood then, taking a few steps back before undoing the button on her jeans. "They are."

Owen just watched her, knowing that she just had a bikini bottom on underneath, but still intrigued nonetheless. Of course, Owen had seen a lot of porn in his lifetime and this was really nothing in comparison to some of the things he'd seen from those kind of videos, but this was different. This was real. Annabel was real.

Now clad in only her bikini, Annabel went and set her wet clothes in one of the patio chairs and got a sip of her bottled water before going to sit back down at the edge of the pool. Owen just moved to grasp her thighs, pulling them apart slightly so he could stand between them.

"When is this gonna go away?" He reached out and tugged gently at some of her hair. "And be blonde again?"

"So you did like me better before?"

"No," he said slowly. "I'm just curious."

"If you don't like it Owen-"

"I love it. I love you." He kissed her then. "It's just something to get used to. You know?"

"Mmmm."

Owen looked up suddenly, staring into the glass house. "Is your mom home?"

"Yeah. She was in bed still. She hasn't felt well recently since she got back from New York."

"Maybe she misses it."

"Maybe."

"Is this where the party is?"

Owen groaned as his friend suddenly appeared at the back gate. "Rolly, shut up."

"Ha ha!" The guy was his typical jolly self as he opened the back gate. "Met your father, Annabel. Nice guy."

"Mmmm," she replied, staring at the girl who walked through the gate with the other guy. "Hi."

The girl just glanced at Annabel before whispering something in Rolly's ear. The guy nodded, not acknowledging her in any other way.

"Wow, buddy. You can live with music long enough to be in the pool?" Rolly, who was already in his swim trunks, pulled his graphic t-shirt off before taking a running jump and doing a cannonball into the pool.

"Rolly," Annabel hissed when she got splashed with water. Surfacing, he just laughed, looking back at his guest.

"Hey, Hayley," Rolly called. "This is Annabel and this is Owen, her boyfriend. That was her dad. Which, might I say, Annabel-"

"Chill, dude," Owen said, moving back from his girlfriend. "God."

Hayley, who Annabel had never seen before, went over to one of the pool chairs and laid out. "This is it, Rolly?"

"I told you I'd just be hanging out with my, uh, closest friends."

Annabel kicking up some water at him. "I'm one of your closest friends?"

"I would say so."

"Then you must have some horrible friends."

"Yeah, well, you know."

Annabel glanced back at the other girl, making sure she wasn't listening, before pushing into the water. Once she was close enough to Rolly, she whispered, "Clarke texted me."

"Annabel-"

"Now, now, Owen, let the woman speak." Rolly glanced over at Hayley. "What did Clarke say?"

"She asked what I was doing today and I just told her that I was hanging out with Owen. I wasn't sure if I should tell her- Rolly!"

He swam over to one edge of the pool before looking around for Annabel's phone. "Where's your cell, Annabel?"

"On the ground. Don't step on it. What are you-"

"Text her. Get over here and text her."

"What? N-"

"I have to call her then," Rolly said. "She won't answer when I call from my phone or Owen's, but if I call from yours, she'll answer."

"Rolly, no," Annabel complained. "I don't want to be a part of this."

"You already are."

"I am not."

"It's too late, Annabel!" He got her phone before shifting through her contacts. "You're in too deep. I can't pull out. Should have used birth control."

"What?" She looked to her boyfriend. "Owen, stop him."

"Why can't we ever just have a normal day? One where we all just hang out?" Owen continued to complain as he got out of the pool. "I mean, I just wanted a normal, nice day with my girlfriend. Why can't that ever happen to me?"

"I dunno, man, but- Ah!" Rolly tensed up as Owen's hand suddenly clamped down on the back of his neck. "Not cool, dude. What are you-"

"Drop the phone in my hand," Owen said, holding one hand out while squeezing the boy's neck harder with the other. "Now."

"Alright, alright," Rolly said, doing as asked. "Would you let me go now?"

"If you promise to stop being weird."

"Promise."

"Alright then." Owen let him go before walking over to the table to finally open his coke. He was planning on getting back in the water, but suddenly Annabel was next to him, taking a seat in one of the patio chairs.

"Here's your phone," he said, setting it on the table in front of her. Then, glancing over at Hayley and Rolly, he asked, "What was up with that?"

"I dunno."

"Isn't this chick here for him?"

"Chick's offensive."

"Bella."

She just shrugged. "I guess they're not really together. It's still tacky. I mean, like if when you took me to Bendo that first time, I would have been offended if you, like, called another girl and were telling her how into her you were. I mean, even if we're not really together, you should at least respect me. You know?"

Owen laughed slightly. "God, Bell. Like I could ever get someone else."

She just smiled at him. "You could get someone, I'm sure."

"No one as good as you."

"Well, I am perfect."

Leaning down, Owen pressed a kiss to her wet forehead. "Yeah, you are."

* * *

"You like my toenails? They match my sandals perfectly, huh? Kirsten thought they did. I've never been a big fan of orange though. You know?"

Owen glanced down at her feet before back up at the TV. "Yeah."

"Then, do you like this shirt? I got it down there. It matches pretty well too. You think? I do. Owen? Bear?"

"Mmmmhmm."

Annabel sighed, leaning against him. She was over at his house, where she found herself most summer days now, so long as Owen was off. It was starting to get boring though.

"Do we have to keep playing videogames? These are boring."

"Uh, Bell, the NES is _not_ boring. How is Zelda boring? Huh?"

"…I don't get it. Is the guy Zelda or-"

"You're kidding, right?"

She groaned, moving to lay down now, her head in his lap. "Let's do something fun, Bear."

"I'm having fun."

"Well, I'm not."

"Did you want to play-"

"No more videogames."

"Bella-"

"Owen, I want to do something fun."

"Like what?" He glanced at her. "I'm all ears."

That got him pinched. "Shut up."

He rubbed his arm before dropping the controller and wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. He pulled her up until she was sitting. With his other hand, he reached towards the front of her jeans.

"Well," he began slowly. "We could always try something else."

"No, Owen." She pushed his hand away. "Not today."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

For a second the two of them just stared at each other. Annabel seemed to be trying to tell him something without not actually having to come out and say it, but he was never too bright.

"I don't know what you're-"

"I'm on my period, okay?"

"Oh." He blinked. "Oh."

This had never come up before. Owen, now embarrassed, moved away from her slightly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking back at the TV. "Did you want-"

"I just didn't want you to try and-"

"I won't." Ew. He really wouldn't. "Uh…you wanna watch TV? Or a movie?"

She leaned into his arm. "I didn't mean to make things awkward."

"They're not. I mean, it's not like I didn't know that you have a period." He pushed up before going to turn off the NES. "You wanna pick the movie or you want me to?"

She just sat there, watching him. "You can, if you want."

"You want to watch a concert on-"

"No. No music. I want to watch a movie."

"Well, we are home alone," he pointed out. "You wanna watch a horror movie?"

"If you want."

"Monster, gore, or slasher?"

"Just pick something, Bear," she sighed.

"Alright," he said, picking a movie before going to put it in the DVD player. "You want me to go get a blanket?"

"Yeah, sure."

While he was in his bedroom, Owen did a quick check of his email, not shocked to find one from his father. He just deleted it without reading it before heading back out of his room, taking a blanket and pillow with him.

"You wanna sit down here?" Owen gave Annabel the items before turning and going into the kitchen. "I'mma make us some popcorn. Alright?"

"Is popcorn vegan friendly?"

"The heck if I know. I guess. Not buttered though," he said, considering this now. "Butter is made from milk, right? Which is made from cows."

"Ugh. I have a new respect for vegans."

"How come?"

"It takes so much out off you to figure all that stuff out, you know? I mean, I just eat whatever except for when I'm watching calories or am on a diet. Then vegetarians just have to make sure its not meat. Vegans though have to be sure that its not only not meat, but also not made from animals stuff. Who has time for that? Who's smart enough for that?"

"Mom, apparently."

Annabel giggled. "When I first told my dad that your mom was a vegan he just started laughing, thinking I was joking. When I said I wasn't, he asked what exactly kind of vegan food she was feeding you that made you get so big."

"Ha ha. You know, the more I hear about your dad, the less I like him."

"Oh, whatever. You're just mad that the two of you don't play videogames anymore."

"Why would I need to play games with him, Annabel, when I have you?"

When Owen came back into the living room bearing a bowl of popcorn and water, Annabel just smiled at him, sitting up some. She was already snuggled under the blanket and was glad that her bear was finally back to warm her even more. Owen had to turn on the movie before coming over to her.

"Mmm." Annabel leaned against him the second he was under the blanket with her. "I'm so cold."

"It's hot out."

"Yeah, I know."

He made a face, looking down at her. "You okay?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Okay."

Annabel giggled, slightly. "My parents are getting rid of their mattress."

"What?"

"Yeah. Mom doesn't want…Dad says that that woman never…but she wants a new one."

He shook his head. "This is all so weird. I mean, my parents just got divorced because they couldn't get along. They never cheated on each other. And if Dad had cheated, Mom would have left him immediately."

"Everyone's different," Annabel told him as the movie finally got passed the opening credits and was really starting.

"What are you?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you leave a guy? If he cheated on you?"

"If we were just dating? Like if I found out you were sleeping with someone else? Yeah. Duh. Or if I was engaged and the guy was cheating."

"But if we were married?"

"That's trickier. It really depends."

"On?"

"On a lot of stuff, Bear." She was stroking his leg now, no longer looking at the TV, but rather the popcorn bowl. "Like…if it was in the first year or so of the marriage, then yeah, I'm gone. But if I've been with him for, like, over twenty years, it's something to think about, you know? One mistake out of twenty years isn't that bad."

"It's a 95."

"What?"

"On a test. It's a 95."

She just sighed slightly. "What about you?"

"What?"

"If you were cheated on, would you leave the girl?"

"It depends too."

"On?"

"How much I love her."

"Even if you were just dating?"

"Even then."

"So basically you're telling me I could sleep around and you wouldn't care?"

"Oh, I'd care," he insisted. "And eventually I'd have enough, no doubt, but just one mistake? It's just one mistake. I'm possessive though."

"So?"

"So, I might get angry with you."

"You've been angry with me before."

"Not as angry as I'd be then."

"Would you, like, hit me?"

Owen paused. "No. I don't think so. I wouldn't want to."

"What if I hit you first?"

He smiled at that, laughing slightly. "Bella, you have hit me."

"Not when I was super angry though."

"When you get angry, you become submissive. I know you. Besides, there's no way you could hit me and hurt me."

"I could if I wanted."

He kissed her head then. "Sure, Bell. My point is though…I hit things when I get angry. I throw things. But I hardly ever get directly angry at you. I get angry with what you do."

"If I cheated on you though, then you'd be angry at me."

"I'd be angry at the fact you were cheating."

"Owen."

"I've been angry at my mother many, many times. And my sister. I've never hit them. You know, 'cause I love them. And I love you. I couldn't imagine hitting you. I might hit _things_, but never you. Not someone I care about."

"When we first got together, you didn't hit anything anymore. You didn't throw things anymore."

"I know," he sighed. "I just…everything's happening so fast. It's like everything was good and then suddenly it wasn't. All of a sudden, everything sucked."

"Everything?"

"Most everything." He glanced down at her. "Not you though."

"Never me."

"Mmmm…sometimes."

"Bear."

He laughed. "Never you, Bella. You'll be my only constant that's always a good thing, that I always want around me."

She glanced back at the movie. "Is popcorn for dinner?"

"I have cash, if that's what you mean. I can buy a piz-"

"No. No more pizza."

"There's eggs in the-"

Reaching into the bowl in his lap, she said, "Popcorn it is."

* * *

"What's the capital of Utah?"

"Salt Lake City."

"Three letter word for a nocturnal bird."

"Owl."

"A-"

"Bear, it's not you finishing the crossword puzzle if you keep asking me all of the answers."

He groaned, shaking his head. "I'm trying to get smarter, Annabel."

"Considering you couldn't come up with the word owl, I would just accept that you're going to be stupid for the rest of your life, Snoogie."

He had just gotten off work for the day and had come over with a newspaper, claiming that he was going to actually complete the crossword. Annabel, who had been on her laptop, took him into the kitchen and got him some brain food to help him accomplish this. You know, ice cream, cokes, and hot dogs. Then they set up at the kitchen table, him chowing down while working on the puzzle, her now on her laptop downstairs, helping when needed…which turned out to be the whole time.

"I wanna raise my IQ, you know?"

"What happened to your not going to college stuff?"

"I'm not," he said. "I still don't want to be dumb."

"You're not dumb." She reached out and rubbed his arm. "You're stupid. There's a difference. If you were just dumb, you would know that."

"Bella."

She squeezed his arm this time, laughing slightly. "Your ice cream is melting."

"Oh, yeah." He decided to focus on that. "I love ice cream."

"I know, because you're a little boy."

"Grown men can love ice cream."

"Mmmm."

"They can."

"Okay." She let go of him then, going back to her laptop. "I believe you."

He frowned over at her. "What are you doing over there anyways?"

"Just playing a game."

"Hmmm. I'm raising my IQ and you're numbing your brain."

"I can play computer games."

"Thought you hated all games?"

"Not all games, Bear," she said. "Just stupid ones. Like Nintendo games."

"Take it back."

"N- Bear, I swear to God-"

He had gotten up and moved over to her. "Take it back."

"No. Nintendo and Sega and all those other stupid things are dumb. Very dumb. You're- Bear!"

"Nope. You had your chance," he told her as he carried her through the kitchen and over to the backdoor. Luckily it was a sliding glass one so he was able to open it without dropping her. "Now you face the consequences."

"My phone is in my pocket," she said quickly. "My phone is-"

"It's on the table. I saw it."

"Damn it, Owen. Put me down!"

"Gladly."

And then he dropped her in the pool.

"Owen," she yelled as she finally was able to get her head above the water. "You-"

"Everything okay, kids?"

For the first time they noticed her mother on the patio, sitting in a chair. She was watching them now, intently.

"Because that sounded like a bad word I heard before, Annabel," Grace went on. "Are you fighting?"

"No," Annabel said, shooting daggers at Owen as he reached a hand down to help pull her out of the pool. Instead, she just used how off balance he was at the moment to her advantage and pulled him in. "Not anymore."

Owen growled as he came up for air before reaching out and grabbing her, dragging her under water with him. She fought him off though before quickly getting to the edge of the pool and forcing herself up and out.

"I got chlorine in my eyes," Owen complained.

"Yeah, well, life sucks, doesn't it?"

Grace sighed from where she was on the patio. "Come here, Annabel. And Owen, there's towels upstairs. Hurry and get one though. I don't want you dripping all through the house."

He was in the upstairs bathroom, drying off when Annabel came in.

"Well, I hope you're happy."

He looked at her, not even caring that he was only in his boxers. "With the chlorine in his eyes? Try no."

"Mom yelled at me and told me that we would be discussing my 'language use' when Dad gets home."

"What did you even say?"

"Damn."

He snorted. "Yeah, you're mom's a freak."

She sighed before walking away. "Why did you take off your clothes?"

"I don't know. I wanted to towel off."

"When you put the wet clothes back on, Bear-"

"I'm aware now," he yelled back at her as she was now in her room. "If you hadn't pulled me into the pool-"

"Well, if you hadn't tossed me in to begin with-"

"You insulted Nintendo!"

"Screw Nintendo!"

He just growled as he continued to towel off. Then, in a softer voice, he said, "I don't want to wear wet clothes."

"You never did take that shirt home that I bought you," Annabel called to him. "So there's that. You want it?"

"What about pants?"

He heard her groan. "Maybe it's best if you just go home, Owen."

"What about my ice cream?"

"I will shove that stupid ice cream down your throat."

In the end, Owen had to put back on his wet jeans and his new shirt before heading home. He offered Annabel to tag along, but she turned him down, claiming that she didn't even want to find out when he would throw her into at his house, where there was no pool.

"If it isn't the man of the hour…and why are your pants wet?"

Owen made a face a his aunt as he walked into the house. "Annabel threw me into the pool."

Camille raised an eye brow. "She threw you?"

"Well, I tossed her in first and then she pulled me in."

His mother frowned as he closed the front door behind him. The two sisters were sitting on the couch, clearly having been having a conversation.

"Are you two fighting? Is she alright?"

He sent a look at his mother. "She's fine. I just had to come home."

"Why isn't your shirt wet?"

He held up the one in his hand. "Enough proof for you, Camille?"

"What's with the attitude? Excuse me for being curious." His aunt shook her head. "I don't like this Annabel. She makes you act stupid."

"Yeah, well, I don't like you."

"Owen," his other exclaimed. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," he insisted as he headed to his bedroom. And there wasn't until he got to his home and found his aunt there. She always put him on high anxiety. Once he was in his room, he dropped his nasty wet jeans and changed out of them and his boxers. He left the shirt though. It was nice.

"Owen." The door started to open just as he was pulling up his zipper. "Are you angry with me or-"

"You know, I was getting dressed," he complained as his aunt came in.

"Oh, I changed your diaper. Nothing could have changed much since then."

"For someone that's afraid I'm angry at them, you sure do say enough things to make me angry."

"Ha ha." She went to lay down on his bed. "Ooh, your pillow smells like perfume."

"Shut up."

"How often is she in your bed?"

"Cam-"

"Does your Mom know? Huh? That she's in your bed often enough to get her scent everywhere?"

"She's not an animal. It's not a scent."

"It is a scent." Camille cuddled into his pillows. "What's her name again?"

"You know her freaking name."

"Ooh, testy." Cam sat up on her elbows then, watching him with a slight smile. "Mallory told me that she calls you Bear. Is that what you like being called now? Bear?"

"You're really pissing me off, Camille."

"Oh, lighten up, Snoogie."

"Cam-"

"That's the other part of the name, right?" She laughed then. "It's so fun at the beginning, Owen. You'll hate her in the end though, so don't get too attached."

"Shut up, alright?"

"What are you gonna do? Huh?" She laid back. "Your pillow smells like her, but the rest of your room stinks. What the heck do you have going on in here?"

He couldn't smell anything wrong with it, so he decided to just ignore her. Going over to his stereo, he immediately turned it on before going to sit down at his desk.

"Oh, so you're not even going to talk to me?"

"I'm busy," he told his aunt as he logged onto his computer. He was about to check his email when his sister came into the room.

"It's Annabel," she said, handing him her cell phone. Mallory had been feeling better the past few days and had even managed to plan out an outfit. Not that Owen noticed.

"On your phone?"

She nodded, handing it over before going to sit on the bed next to her aunt.

"Hello?" He frowned slightly, trying to figure out what was going on.

"You left your phone over here, Bear. On the kitchen table."

"Crap, really?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Oh, I can-"

"I'll bring it to you," Annabel said. "I want to get out of the house. Mom's starting to get annoying."

"Are you sure? I can-"

"What, Bear? You have your second girlfriend over there or something?"

"What? No. I just-"

"Be there soon. Bye."

"Bye," he mumbled as she hung up. When he turned to give his sister her phone back, he found that she and their aunt were both sitting there, watching him while waiting for an explanation.

"So," Cam began. "What was that about?"

"Nothing. Annabel's just coming over and-"

"Really?" Mallory stood, going to take her phone from him. "Right now? Today?"

"Yeah," Owen said, glancing around his room to make sure it was presentable. Now that Cam had mentioned something about a stench though, he was concerned that Annabel smelt it too and just hadn't mentioned it. "Mallory, do you have any candles?"

"What? No," she said, frowning. "Why?"

"I need something to make it smell better in here."

She took a sniff. "It smells like it always does."

"Cam said it stinks."

"Like I said, it smells like it always does."

Their aunt giggled. "Honestly, Owen, can you not smell that?"

"It smells like him, so I doubt it."

He sent a look at both of them before going out of the room. "Mom, do you have any candles?"

"Maybe, sweetie." She was in the kitchen by this point, cooking. "Why?"

"Cam and Mallory say my room stinks and Annabel's coming over."

"Right now?" His mother frowned as he made it into the room. "For what?"

"She's bringing me something."

"I thought the two of you were fighting?"

"We weren't fighting," he insisted as his sister and aunt came down the stairs and into the kitchen also. "She's bringing me my phone."

"Oh. Well, that's fine. Is she staying for-"

"Actually, I'm taking her out to dinner," he said, making that decision after looking into the pot of whatever vegan stuff his mother was making.

"Can I-"

"No, Mal," he said, now rushing off to the bathroom to get ready.

Before, when he went over to her house after work, that had been to hangout. Hanging out was a lot different than going out. He had to maximize his odor control by applying too much cologne and take care of all those pesky hairs on his face that weren't there because he had already shaved them the day before. You know, the stuff normal teenage boys do to get ready for dates. It wasn't long before he saw Annabel's car pull up through the living room window.

"Hey, Bear, I thought-"

"Change of plans," he said, rushing to get into her car before she could get out of it. "I'm taking you out to dinner."

"Really?" She frowned. "You hate my car."

"It's fine," he said, suddenly remembering this fact. "Really."

"Were did you want to go?" she asked while handing him the phone. "Bear?"

"Anywhere that's not making vegan crap."

She smiled at that. "What's your mom making?"

"I couldn't even tell. It smelled weird though."

Giggling, Annabel watched as he settled into the car. "Are you sure you don't want to take the Land Cruiser?"

"I'm sure," he replied, still trying to find a comfortable position. "Just drive. We can eat wherever you want."

"Well, Dad was bringing home steaks, so-"

"Steak?" He smiled. "Is there enough for you?"

"I don't think there will ever be enough for you," she said while glancing at him. "You can eat over though, if that's what you mean, sure. Saves you money anyways."

"Well, if I'm coming, I should at least buy something for dinner too, right?"

"I guess. You wanna stop by the store?"

"Yeah. Let's buy cookies or something."

She giggled a little bit, reaching over to rub his thigh. "You can come over then, on one condition."

"Which is?"

"No throwing me in the pool."

Owen smiled slightly. "I think I can follow that one."

* * *

"Clarke and Rolly are back together, by the way."

"Mmmm." Annabel was on her bed, reading.

Bleh. Owen was on the floor in front of her bed, on her laptop. She told him he could stay, so long as he was silent. Her father had been up and down the stairs all night, so neither was brave enough to sneak making out. Besides, Owen wasn't sure if she was still…so yeah. He had no plans of doing anything that involved touching.

"I'm bored," Owen told her.

"You're looking up music. Isn't that what you do usually?"

"Yeah, at home. I'm with you." He glanced up at her. "You wanna go out and do anything?"

"It's ten, Owen. What's there to do? You hate parties and mostly everything's closed."

"I hate Lakeview."

She just pushed his head with her foot. "It's not so bad."

"That's just because you're happy to be home."

"I am. Aren't you glad to have me back?"

"Of course," he agreed, still surfing the web for bands he didn't know. Those were coming far and in between though. "I liked most of those CDs you brought me back."

"Most?"

"Yeah, well."

Annabel giggled. "I tried to be sure none of it was mainstream. I know how you hate that."

"I do not hate mainstream, Annabel. Some mainstream is good. Not all though. Just like not all underground is good."

"Okay, Bear," she said, trying to get focused on her book again. He wouldn't have that though. Now that there was a conversation, he was going to keep it alive.

"What are you reading?"

"A book."

"Annabel."

"Nothing you would like."

"How do you know that? Huh?"

"It's a girl book."

"Oh. I didn't realize that books had genders."

"It's a love story, okay?"

"Oh. Yeah, you can keep that one to yourself. Unless, there's, like, sex or something."

That got him hit with her foot again. "Would you chill?"

"I'm bored," he reiterated. "Don't you get that?"

"I get it," she assured him. "I just don't care."

"You're my ride home."

"Do you want to go home?"

"No."

"Then shut up."

Owen grumbled under his breath, leaning back against the bed. "Can I at least sit up there with you?"

"No. Dad's been like a freaking hawk all week. You know that."

"Then I have to go to the bathroom."

She rolled her eyes as he stood up. "Knock yourself out, Bear."

Getting up, Owen sat her laptop down before heading for the door. Once he was in the bathroom, he took his time in there, not really wanting to go back into Annabel's room. He knew that it was only a matter of time before she too got bored with doing nothing and took him home. He didn't want that to happen just yet.

When he got back to his girlfriend's bedroom, he found that she was now joined by her father. He too had just entered and hardly even noticed the other male.

"Annabel," Andrew started as he stood by her bed. "You can't-"

"The door's been open all night. You know that."

"What? No." Her father shook his head. "Your mother wanted me to come up here and talk to you about your….language usage."

Groaning, Annabel closed her book. "Dad-"

"What exactly did you say anyways?"

"Damn."

He blinked. "Oh. What else?"

"That's it."

"That's why I'm supposed to be talking to you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well, uh, don't use that kind of language in front of your mother," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Dad-"

"I don't really want to talk to you about this, Annabel. She's making me," he insisted as he finally noticed Owen. He just nodded at the other guy. "So I have to stay up here and pretend like I'm lecturing you."

"Dad," Annabel sighed as Owen sat back down on the floor, getting back into his laptop. "I honestly didn't even know that she was out there. Owen and I were just going outside to-"

"Throw each other in the pool. Yes, I heard that story from her also."

Annabel giggled softly while Owen shook his head. "We were just playing. Mom takes everything so seriously."

"She does, doesn't she?" Andrew smiled at his daughter while Owen logged onto his UMe, not shocked to find he had some messages from Rolly waiting for him. "She told me that she fears that you two were fighting or something stupid like that. I wasn't really listening."

"We weren't fighting. We were just playing."

"I'm sure. Just keep it away from your mother, huh? She hasn't been feeling well recently." With that, Andrew walked out of the bedroom, leaving the door open in his wake. Annabel settled back into the bed, hanging one of her feet over to the edge, directly in Owen's way.

"I've seen your toes, Annabel. I don't want to see them anymore."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Bella."

She wiggled them at him. "Compliment me on the color again."

"Your toes look nice."

"Why thank you, Bear."

He sighed slightly. "If you're waiting for me to kiss your foot, you can keep on waiting."

"Oh, come on, Bear, just- Owen!" She jerked her foot back up. "I wasn't serious."

"Yeah, like kissing your foot was a fantasy of mine." He made a face. "You asked for me to do it."

"I didn't think you would. Ew."

"Yeah, well, let's go ahead and mark that off our list of things to do," Owen said, spitting on the carpet. Annabel kicked in with her foot, but quickly withdrew it again.

"Agreed."


	3. Chapter 3

Summer Heat

Chapter 3

"I think the reason you didn't like the foot thing was because I did it wrong. I'm supposed to suck on your toes, not kiss your foot."

Blinking, Annabel looked away from her novel. "You want my toes in your mouth?"

Owen looked down at the feet in his lap. "If you shower first, maybe."

"Shut up, Bear. Besides, that's creepier than when you kissed my foot."

"It's supposed to be pleasurable."

"Big word for the guy that couldn't come up with the word owl in a crossword."

"Ha ha."

"Besides, Bear, if you have a foot fetish, now is the time to tell me." Annabel wiggled her toes at him. "I do have hot feet though, don't I?"

"The hottest."

"Whatever, fetish boy."

"It's not a fetish. I just love you." He looked back at the TV. "Why do you like reading so much anyways?"

"It's the same as watching TV, Owen."

"No, it's not."

"It is to me. It's entertaining."

"Yeah, well, I'm bored."

"You're the one that wanted to come over."

"Yeah, Annabel, because your parents are out. You know what normal people do when their parents are out?"

"Something we're not doing."

"Annabel."

"You won't even let me touch you." She pulled her legs back out of his lap. "How do you get off from fingering me? Huh? It's freaky."

He blushed then, looking off. "I just…I like doing that, okay? To you. I like being able to make you…Why does it matter, Annabel? You like it, right?"

"I just think it's weird, Owen."

"Do you want to…have sex? Like all the way?"

"Well, no."

"Then you should be happy that you don't have to do anything for me."

"Maybe I want to."

"Oh yeah," he snorted. "What girl wants that?"

"What guy wants to just finger a girl?"

"Me."

"Then me too, Owen. I want to…"

"Want to…?"

"You know."

"Say it. If you want to do it so badly, say it."

"I want to jack you off."

He glanced at her. "Your face is so red-"

"And? Yours isn't? You're the one that made me say it."

"You don't want to do that anyways, so-"

"I want it to be fair. This isn't fair."

"Most girls would like what I do."

"I do. I just-"

"Why do you have to make everything complicated?" Owen changed the channel on the television. "I like fingering you. So I do it. You like it when I finger you. So you let me do it. Simple."

"Owen, are you, like, deformed or something?"

"What?"

"You're just so embarrassed about me see your-"

"I haven't seen you either," he pointed out.

"You've touched me though."

She was pushing him and Owen was about done.

"You want to touch me, Annabel?"

"Owen-"

"Is that what you want? Will that get you to shut up?" He reached out then, grasping Annabel's wrist. He jerked her, pulling her up some so that she could reach his crotch. "Is that what you want?"

"Owen-"

"Here."

If she hadn't been so willing, it wouldn't have worked. Annabel was on her knees now though, allowing him to rub her hand against the front of his jeans.

"This," she mumbled then, "isn't what I meant."

"Shhh." He let go of her wrist now, instead moving to unzip his jeans. "I know. Just…I never let someone-"

"I know." She shifted on the couch, trying to get comfortable as she wiggled her hand in between his open fly. "I've never…touched a guy either."

"Never ever?"

"Never ever."

He was trying to keep his breathing in check. It was hard. He was so nervous, but he was also _so horny_. "I don't…want to finish in my boxers."

She was looking up at him. "Then you'll have to take them off."

He groaned. "I don't want to take-"

"We have to go upstairs," Annabel said suddenly, looking out the front of the glass house as a car passed.

"It's just as glass up in your room," he mumbled as she kneaded him through his boxers. "Bell…"

"I hate this house," she mumbled as she pulled blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over his lap. Owen highly doubted anyone driving passed would have any clue what they were doing, but knew that Annabel had to be embarrassed. Not to mention, if her parents pulled up… So yeah, maybe the blanket was a good idea.

"Your boxers are cute."

Owen just sat there, staring up at the ceiling after he was done while Annabel just pulled her hand out of his boxers.

"That's all you have to say?"

Annabel shrugged. "I want to go wash my hand, but-"

"Bella, stop talking."

She giggled then. "That was fun for you, right?"

He glanced at her then. "What?"

"I mean, I know that it was, I just…was I bad at that? It seemed like you-"

"You can touch me any time, Annabel," he muttered, looking back up at the ceiling. "Anywhere."

"See? What were you so nervous about?"

"I don't…I don't know." He shook his head slightly. I just thought…just…come here."

"What?"

"I…" He turned then, facing her. "I love you."

"Owen-"

He stopped her with a kiss before pushing her down on the couch, the blanket getting twisted up in between their bodies.

"Bear," she whispered as his jeans moved down even further. She could feel the wet spot on his boxers against her legs. "My shorts have ridden up."

"Maybe I should pull them down."

"May-"

A honk made Owen shoot up. Annabel turned her head, her heart pounding, no longer from the thought of whatever Owen was going to do, but rather the thought of being caught. They both felt stupid though when they realized what the honk wasn't from in front of her house, but rather one down the street.

When they both looked back at each other, they were visibly flustered and Annabel was already blushing in preparation. Owen laughed slightly as Annabel broke into a nervous giggle.

"That was close."

"Yeah."

"It's so hard to be secretive in your house."

"Glass is tricky," she mumbled as he laid down on her once more. "It looks like you're getting the whole picture, and some times you are, but other times you're only getting part of the story or some representation of it."

"Is this real? Are we real?"

"I hope so."

He rested his forehead on hers. "I love you."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

"What are you getting Annabel for her birthday?"

Owen frowned, looking up. "What?"

"What are you getting Annabel for her birthday? You know, Annabel? Your girlfriend?"

Turning, Owen looked at his open bedroom door, staring at his sister who was standing there. No longer did seeing her bald shock him. It was growing on her, or so he told her randomly. "What are you talking about, Mallory?"

"Annabel's birthday is in two days."

"Since when?"

"Since always."

"How do you know?"

She blinked. "She posted on her UMe the gift her sister sent her from New York and called it an early birthday present."

Turning back around, he quickly logged on to the social networking site the kids at school used. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"You're her boyfriend, Owen. You're supposed to know these things."

"Kirsten sent her a ring?" Owen frowned. "Hey! This is the hand she usually wears my ring on."

"So?" Mallory was further into the room now, staring at the computer screen also.

"Look. You can see her thumb. My ring isn't there."

"You're weird." Mallory took a seat on his bed. "So what are you going to get her?"

"I don't know. She didn't even tell me about her birthday."

"Well, you have to get her something, Owen."

"I know that."

"What are you going to get her?"

"I…" Frowning, he got up and went over to his dresser. Counting the cash sitting up there and even the two twenties in his pocket, he said, "I have $80, but I need at least $50 of that for the next two weeks."

"Why are you so low on money?"

"I just freaking bought her a necklace, when she got back from Arizona." He shook his head. "Maybe she'll consider that her birthday pres-"

"She won't."

"Yes, she will. Annabel is-"

"A girl. She's a girl. She'll want a present."

"I don't have the money for something like that."

"Well, you only have $30 dollars to spend, right?"

"Right."

"You can get her something for that."

"Not something nice." He nodded back at the computer screen. "Not something like that ring."

"She knows that you don't have a lot of money."

"Yeah, well, she's from the Arbors, Mal."

"And?"

"And she's used to real birthday gifts. This is her 17th birthday."

"18th."

"Whatever."

"She's an adult now. It has to be a serious gift."

"Hmmm."

Then Mallory giggled.

"What?"

"It's just…your girlfriend's older than you."

"And? I'm still bigger than her, stronger than her, and every thing else that's important."

"Not smarter than her."

"Yeah, well, it's not as important as all the other stuff." He ran a hand across his shaven head. "What am I going to do? Why didn't she mention it?"

"Maybe she doesn't want you to know."

"But why?"

"I dunno. Maybe she just figured you'd know." Mallory suddenly perked up. "Hey! You can surprise her now. She'll think that you didn't know and won't be expecting anything, but then you'll have something for her. It'll be all romantic and stuff."

He gave his sister a look. "I'm not much of a romantic."

"Yeah, well, you have to learn sometime." She clapped her hands together suddenly. "What if you make her dinner?"

"What?"

"Yeah. You can have her come over, cook her dinner, and then give her whatever it is you're going to buy her."

"Mallory, I can only make eggs and order pizza."

"You can cook pizza rolls," she added. "And hotdogs. Not to mention fish sticks."

"That's hardly a romantic meal."

"You said it yourself, you're not a romantic. It'll be quirky and cute. Like the two of you."

"How are we quirky and cute?"

"Annabel's cute and you're weird. What's a nice word for weird? Quirky."

"I'm not weird."

"Bear."

"Don't call me that."

"I'm kidding." Mallory yawned then before moving to lay down on thee bed. "You could make her fish sticks, pizza rolls, and hotdogs. Then you can eat eggs. If a guy made me that, I'd be happy with him."

"No guy better be making you dinner."

She waved him off. "I mean a weird guy, like you. You know, if I was into weird guys. I'm not. At all. Annabel is though. She'll be into all the weird things you do."

"I'm not weird."

"I thought you always told the truth?"

Groaning, he went to sit back down at his desk. "I can't believe she didn't tell me. I should call her."

"Don't you work soon?" his sister asked, her head pressed into his pillow. "Mmm. Cam's right. This smells like Annabel."

Ignoring that, Owen pulled his phone out, but he didn't do anything with it other than stare at it.

"How come you guys aren't hanging out today anyways?"

"You know I'm working. You even mentioned it."

"Yeah, but you could have hung out in the morning."

He shook his head. "She said she had to work out."

"You could have gone with her."

"What are you trying to say?"

Mallory just mumbled something as she fell asleep. Sighing, Owen went over to her and covered her up in his blankets before walking out of his room. She was right, he had work soon. Sighing, he headed into the bathroom to shower.

What kind of things do you get a girl for her birthday? A cheap something? This was not fair. The only person Owen bought gifts for was his mother and then it was just flowers for Mother's Day and a card for Christmas. How do you go from that to getting a girl something special?

This was crap, pure and simple.

* * *

"You could have told me it was your birthday."

Annabel frowned as she opened her front door. "Today isn't my birthday."

He held out the pizza. "I brought food. Can I come in?"

"You just get off work?" She took a step back, allowing him access into the house. "Mom and Dad went out tonight."

"Again?"

She nodded as she led him to the kitchen to put down the pizza and liter of soda he brought. "Yeah. They're really trying hard at this, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." He put the stuff down before going back to the entrance to take off his boots. "They won't mind that I'm over, will they?"

"I'm texting Mom to tell her right now. You know how weird she's been. The last thing I want is for them to come home and find out you're here when they're out."

When he got back into the kitchen, he found Annabel hopped up on the kitchen counter and was on her phone.

"So about this birthday-"

"Owen, it's not that big of a deal. It's just a birthday."

"My girlfriend's turning eighteen. It's a freaking big deal." He came over to her, stopping when he was placed in between her open legs. Reaching down, Owen ran a hand down each of her thighs. "How many freaking pairs of shorts do you have?"

"It's summer," she defended.

"I'm not hating it," he assured her. "I rather like it.

"Mmmm."

"So tell me what you want for your birthday."

"Bear-"

"I love my girlfriend and want to get her something for her first birthday as an adult. Not to mention it's our first birthday together."

"You're weird."

He frowned. "Mallory said I'm quirky."

"Quirky means it's weird, but it's a cool weird." She leaned up, kissing him gently. "So no, you're not quirky. Just weird."

"Thanks, Bell."

"I try."

He let out a long sigh. "So what do you want?"

"Nothing, Owen."

"Where's my ring, then?"

"What?"

He cleared his throat. "I saw that photo of the one Kirsten sent you. It's nice."

"It is."

"Where's mine?"

"Owen, I don't have to wear your ring every day."

"Yes, you do. It's part of the possessive thing."

"It's not a wedding ring. I don't have to wear it constantly. God."

"Well, I just don't think you should choose between one or the other."

"Owen, chill." She put a hand to his chest, pushing him back slightly. "You wanna buy me something? Do something for me instead. Get a life."

"Back at you, babe."

Rolling her eyes, Annabel told him, "We can either fight over something as stupid as me not wearing a stupid ring, or we can eat pizza. Your choice."

Owen didn't answer as he lifted Annabel into his arms, making sure her legs were wrapped securely around his waist before setting off towards the living room.

"Bear?"

He just dropped her gently on the couch before pressing a tender kiss to her head. He left the room for a minute or so before returning with a plate of pizza and a cup filled with ice and soda.

"Here we go," he said, setting the cup and plate down on the coffee table. "Good?"

"Smells good."

"Good."

She sat up then, reaching to grab a piece. "You love getting me pizza with pineapples, don't you?"

"I like for you to be happy."

"Mmmm."

"You're my girlfriend, after all. What kind of dick wouldn't want his girl to be happy?"

"I'm your girl?"

"You are my girl."

"Hmmm. Owen's girl."

"Yep."

"Bear's girl."

"My woman in two days though, eh?"

"Bear."

"Eighteen. Hmmm." He glanced at her. "I don't know how I feel about dating such a mature woman."

"Well, you know, I do like my guys young."

"Better just be one guy," he said as he began to pull pieces of pineapple off a slice and feed them to her. "And by that I mean me."

"Of course." She giggled at him. "Bear, you really don't have to get me anything for my birthday."

"Will you get me something for mine?"

"Probably, but-"

"Then why wouldn't I get you something?" He glanced at her. "I just don't know what to get. That's all."

"You just got me that necklace. That was nice."

"Mallory said that can't count as your present."

"It can."

He shook his head. "Then she told me that I could make you dinner. You know, surprise you, since you probably didn't know that I knew your birthday."

"It's not that hard to find out, Bear. I assumed you knew. It's on my UMe."

"And?" He frowned at her. "When's my birthday then? Huh? Since it's so eas-"

"October 17th."

"…How did you know that?"

"Because, Owen, I'm your girlfriend. Duh."

He let out a long breath as he fed her another piece of pineapple. "I feel like a shit boyfriend now."

"Well, don't. You're the best one I've ever had."

"And the last one. Right?"

"Bear-"

"Sorry." He glanced at the TV. "Can I turn on the-"

"Sure, Bear. Watch what you want." She settled out on the couch as her phone vibrated. "Ah, it's Mom. She text back that you can stay, but they'll be home in a few minutes anyways."

"Great," he mumbled, taking another bite of pizza as he put a baseball game on. Annabel crinkled her nose, but he didn't notice and she didn't say anything. "Maybe I'll just take you to a concert."

"No, Owen. We're not going to another stupid concert."

"Annabel-"

"You had three weeks to go to all the concerts you wanted. I don't like the bands you like. Accept it. I want my summer before senior year to be fun."

"Concerts are fun."

"Not the ones you like to go to."

"Hey-"

"I'm going out to dinner with my family on my birthday anyways," Annabel told him. "You can come to that, if you want."

"Where are you going?"

"Does it matter? It's free food."

"No, I just meant…last time I went out to eat with your family, you guys got all dressed up and I-"

"Owen, I don't care what you wear and neither do my parents."

"I just feel stupid when I-"

"Then wear something nice. It doesn't matter to me."

He shook his head, giving her his crust. "I thought that I could take you out. Just the two of us. Alone."

"Well…I don't think Dad-"

"It's your eighteen birthday. You should get to choose what you do. Not to mention, he got the last seventeen. The rest are mine."

"Owen-"

"They are. You're with me now. Your family can get the fuck over it."

That was the end of their conversation though as they could see her parents pull up in the driveway. Owen shifted away from Annabel slightly. It was all talk after all, that getting the fuck over it stuff. He had no problem with fighting with her father, but only as a last resort. They were in no way in need of that kind of thing currently.

"Late night, kids?"

Annabel just smiled at her father as he came into the living room. "Owen bought me pizza."

"With more of those pineapples."

"That's how I like it, Dad," she said as her mother headed upstairs, more than likely to her bed. "How was dinner?"

"Fine," he told her as he headed into the kitchen, quickly returning with his own plate of pizza. "You want my pineapples, Annabel?"

"I think I have enough, actually."

"Suit yourself," he said, going to sit in the chair. "You're a baseball guy, Owen?"

"Yeah," he said. "I can't ever watch the Diamondbacks though, since we're all the way out here now."

"Here, toss me the remote."

Curious, Owen did as the man said. "What are you doing?"

"I've got the package, Owen," he said, flipping through the channels. "Here. Arizona's playing-"

"You get all the teams?" Owen shoved the plate of pizza he and his girlfriend were sharing into her hands, now hunching forward to get the maximum baseball experience. "Like, all of them? American League and National League or-"

"Most of them. It depends."

"Wow." Owen glanced over at Annabel. "Why didn't you ever mention it?"

She blinked. "I don't even know what a Diamondback is."

Sighing, Owen reached over and squeezed her thigh, forgetting for a moment that her father was in the room. It was a quick gesture though and he was pretty sure Andrew didn't even notice.

"I'm not much of a Diamondback fan myself," Mr. Greene told Owen when the inning ended. "I've never really followed them."

Annabel by this point had finished her pizza and was texting Kirsten, telling her what a horrible person their dad was for stealing away her boyfriend. Kirsten, of course, responded by saying their father was a horrible person, but for a completely different reason.

"No one does," Owen admitted. "Unless you actually, you know, live there."

"Ah, but you like it better here, huh? Less hot."

"It can get cold down there, at night. It's just desert. It's a dry heat."

"Grew up in Texas, myself," Annabel's father said. "That's a humid heat. The worst."

"I've never been there."

"New Mexico can get kind of hot too," Andrew went on, which of course made Annabel groan.

"Dad," she complained. "Owen and I were bus-"

"Shhh," Owen shushed. "Top of the 6th is starting, Bell. Be quiet."

Annabel shoved his shoulder slightly before getting up and walking out of the room, into the kitchen. Andrew laughed at that while Owen just shook his head.

"That's how it starts, Owen."

"What starts?" he asked, hardly listening.

"The abuse. A small shove here, a hit there. Then she's full on beating you."

Owen laughed slightly. "I think I could take her."

"I don't know, she's kind of squirrelly."

"You'd know."

"What?"

"I've never slapped her before."

Owen knew before he said it he shouldn't have. He couldn't help it though. It was staring him right in the face. It was what had kept him from getting along with Andrew these past few months. Besides, wasn't Owen Mr. Honesty? At least it was all out on the table now, right?

Andrew cleared his throat then, pretending that he hadn't heard Owen as he turned back to the television. Whatever. Owen didn't care. Annabel was fine now, she was mostly over what had happened. Now he had to focus on his Diamondbacks.

* * *

"So she jerked you off?"

Owen nodded slightly, not looking away from the road. "Yeah."

"And you…fingered her again?"

"Yes, Rolly."

"And that's it?"

"Rol-"

"All these months and that's all you get? A handjob?"

"That's all I wanted," Owen insisted. "I didn't ask her to have sex with me. I'm not going to. I'm just shocked she actually jerked me off."

"Oh, yeah, like little miss blonde's never touched a dick before."

"She's not blonde right now. And besides, she hasn't."

"Aw, you fell for it."

"Fell for what?"

"The whole 'You're my first' thing. God."

Owen huffed, gripping the steering wheel. He spends one day with Rolly instead of Annabel and what happens?

"I am her first."

"Sure, Owen."

"I am!"

"Calm down." Rolly reached forward, adjusting the volume on the stereo. "This is the first time she's gotten you off?"

"What do you mean?"

"Back when you used to just, you know, be the one to finger her, did you ever, like, hump her leg or something?"

"I'm not a fucking dog."

"Yeah, but you had to get, like, hard, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"What would you do?"

"I'd finger her and then go off into the bathroom."

"Seriously?"

"…Shut up."

Rolly was snickering now. "You'd go jerk off in the bathroom?"

"Shut up."

"So you seriously never humped her?"

"Rolly-"

"It's a question!"

"No, I've never humped her. God."

"Not even a little?"

He groaned. "One time, right after I started doing that to her, I just kind of…rubbed against her and came in my pants."

"God, you guys are freaking immature."

"How is that immature?"

"You rubbed up against her to get off?" There was that annoying snicker again. "God, that's like freshmen stuff. 8th and 7th grade, really."

"You were not doing that in 7th grade. You were probably just learning to jerk off."

"I was an experienced kid, Owen."

"Yeah, shows why the only girl's pants you're getting in now is Clarke's."

"That is by choice. And what about you, Owen? You and Annabel haven't even seen each other naked yet, so I'd shut up. I mean, God, have you ever seen a naked woman? Other than, like, porn?"

"Shut up. No. Shut up."

Another snicker. "Told you. You're a 7th grader."

"No one does that shit in 7th grade!"

"The losers like you were sure don't, I'm sure. I bet you hardly even talked to girls back then. All obsessed with, like, your Pokemon cards or Yu-gi-oh or Digimon or Beyblades or some shit like that."

"I did not do any of that in the 7th grade. I played videogames."

"So much better."

"Would you just shut up? At least I'm with someone I love, someone I really want to be with. You hardly ever want to be with Clarke."

"Uh, yeah. She's a bitch half the time."

"Well, you know, maybe you shouldn't date her then."

Rolly scoffed. "You know what Clarke likes, Owen?"

"What? You?"

"No. I mean what she likes to do."

"Likes to do? What do you mean?"

"She likes to give me blows, Owen."

Bad mental picture. Bad mental picture. Owen shook his head, turning the music up.

"And? I don't care."

"You do though. I can tell. Jealous, huh? You're jealous. You wish Annabel would suck you off, don't you?"

He shifted. "I wouldn't hate it, no, but…Annabel's not a slut."

Rolly took offense to that. "A lot of girls do that. Are they all sluts? Huh?"

"In high school? Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's the consensus."

"Maybe she likes blowing me. Ever think of that? Why can't she do something she likes?"

"Because it's…that's porn stuff, alright? That's like a girl liking anal or something. It's either for old people that are trying to spice up their marriage or for porn. Not high school stuff. Only whores do that in high school."

"What about the guy, huh? What does that make me?"

"An asswipe."

"Fuck you dude."

Owen shook his head. "You're just mad that I'm telling the truth."

"If you and Annabel were making out or whatever and she said she wanted to do that, would you turn her down?"

"I don't…I don't know. No, I guess not, but she would never do that."

"You'd never think she'd want to jerk you either, but look where that ended up."

Owen growled. "Annabel's not like that. She's…a virgin."

"Bullshit."

"She is! She's, like, pure."

"God, you're like an old man. Pure? She's pure?"

"She is."

"My God, Owen, you are obsessed with her."

"I am not."

Rolly shook his head. "You have her on, like, this pedestal or something, like she really is perfect."

"That's 'cause she is."

"Owen," Rolly sighed. "What do you think will happen when it wears off?"

"When what wears off?"

"This…feeling."

"What feeling?"

"The way you feel about her. When you start to realize that she's not perfect. Then what?"

"She is perfect. For me. You guys just don't get that."

"You're gonna crash bro, when it happens."

"No, I'm not. She's going to be perfect forever."

"You sound like a stalker or serial killer or something." Along came another snicker. "Like, if she broke up with you, you'd go on a killing spree and kill all these blonde women that looked like her. Then you'd get caught and given the death penalty and die."

"…Why are you laughing about that?"

"I'm not sure. It's just so funny."

Owen sighed. "She's not going to break up with me anyways, so that was a stupid thing to say."

"Do you get like this with all the girls you date?"

Owen was silent.

"Oh, right, she's your…first."

"Shut up!"

Another snicker. "God, you don't think, like, when she goes away to college that she'll wait for you, do you? I mean, that's assuming you guys make it through senior year-"

"We will. We're together forever."

"You sound like a chick, dude. No wonder you never hangout with anyone else."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Oh what? You're mad now?" Rolly sat up straighter. "Look, I like my lunch without conflict, so leave that out here when we get to World of Waffles, huh?"

"Whatever."

* * *

"You look hot, working with your shirt off."

"Ha ha." Owen glanced back at his girlfriend who was lounging on a pool chair. "Very funny."

"You did a good job on the yard though," she said, smiling at him. "If you go put the lawn mower up, you can swim now."

"Is that all I get? A chance to swim?"

"Mmmm…yep."

"Bella," he grumbled, pushing the mower over towards their tool shed. When he offered to mow the Greene's grass, it never really registered in his mind how long that would take. Their lot size doubled his, at least.

When he came back though, Annabel had apparently gone into the house. You couldn't tell from the fact she was in the exact same position as she was before, but there was a glass of coke on the patio table and a plate of watermelon.

"Where'd you get watermelon?"

"Dad cut it last night," Annabel told him, her sunglasses on now as she settled in on the chair. "I thought you'd like some."

"Thanks," he said, taking the plate and his coke over towards the chair next to hers. "Black."

"Hmmm?"

He nodded at her. "Your bikini."

"This is my newest one. You like it?"

He shrugged, still just watching her. "I like the color red."

She snorted. "And?"

"I was just saying." He ate another piece of watermelon. 'I ate lunch with Rolly today."

"I know."

"You know, since tomorrow is your birthday and I won't be able to hang out with him."

"Mmmm. So are you going to dinner with us, Bear?"

"Yep."

"Good. Dad said we can go anywhere I want."

"So World of Waffles it is."

"Bear."

"I'm just joking." He kicked at the ground. "You tell him I was going?"

"Mmmhmm. Whitney's coming too."

"Where are we going?"

"I want to go to some Italian place."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

He kept eating his watermelon. "I work, but I get off at eight. Is that-"

"We'll wait for you." She smiled over at him. "Of course. Besides, Dad works tomorrow too."

"So what are you going to do all day? Alone?"

"Mom wants to take me shopping."

"Sounds like fun."

"I guess so." She sighed slightly. "Dad said we can go out after dinner to hangout, me and you."

"Is your curfew still midnight?"

"Two."

"What?"

"He said that I can stay out until two this summer, since I'm eighteen now." She smiled over at him. "Isn't this great?"

"What about when school starts?"

"It goes back to midnight."

They looked up as her mother came outside, going to take a seat at the patio table. Owen smiled at her, but she didn't smile back. Grace hadn't been looking well recently nor feeling too well. Owen, of course, had no idea what was wrong, but assumed it had to do with what was going on with her and her husband.

"And you are aware, Annabel, that the first sign of abuse, even a hint of it, you'll be right back at your old curfew," Mrs. Greene went on. "No breaking it, no coming home…intoxicated-"

"Mom-"

"-and I had better not catch the two of you doing anything inappropriate. That will be an immediate nine o'clock curfew."

"Mom," Annabel hissed as she sat up now to look back at her. "Stop it. You're embarrassing me."

"Do not tell me to stop doing something, Annabel."

She groaned. "Dad already talked to me about-"

"And I'm telling you again."

"In front of Owen? I have guest."

"And? This is my house, Annabel. If I want to say something to you, I can."

"Why are you even out here? Just to bother me?"

"Watch your tone."

"Make me."

"Welp." Owen stood up suddenly. "I'll, uh, go wash off this plate, huh, Annabel? Can I use your bathroom too? Gonna go change into my trunks, to go swimming."

Neither of the women spoke to him though as he headed back into the house. Letting out a long breath, Owen shook his head before going to wash off the plate like he said he would. He had never seen Annabel fight with her mother, but he had never doubted that she did. He had seen enough fights between Mallory and his mother to know that mother and daughter could go from zero to a hundred in nothing flat.

Owen took his time upstairs. All he really needed to do was put his jeans somewhere, as he had his trunks on under them, but he went ahead and washed off his face, took a pee, and killed some time sliding around on the tile floor in his socks. Their bathroom was huge. It was great.

Andrew's voice could be heard from upstairs before Owen even left the bathroom. Owen didn't really feel like going back downstairs into the fray, but knew he couldn't hide out forever.

"-talk to your mother that way."

"Dad, she-"

"I know. Just…calm down. Where is Owen, anyways?"

"He went upstairs to put on his swim trunks. Mom said that he can't stay though now."

"She's just mad right now. It's okay. He can stay."

Owen was at the bottom of the stairs now and could see the father and daughter pair in the kitchen, Annabel's back to him. Still, even from behind, he could tell she was upset from her posture. …Not to mention, the bottom part of her bikini was ridding down and he got some nice butt cleavage…not that it mattered…to anyone, but him…

"But Mom-"

"Annabel, I said he could stay. Just chill out." Andrew took a step towards her then, pressing a kiss against his daughter's head. "And what is this?"

"What is what?"

He gestured to what she was wearing. "This. Who said you could wear this?"

"I bought it with Whitney and Mom last weekend."

"And? I didn't approve this. Annabel, this is very-"

"I wear bikinis all the time."

Her father groaned and Owen knew it was his time to walk into the room. He didn't want Andrew ruining his view for him. No way, no how. Owen liked his girlfriend's pool, sure, but part of the reason he wanted to use it so much was because he wanted to see her in her swimsuit. Who wouldn't? Andrew apparently, but that was his problem. Not Owen's.

"Ah, Owen," Andrew said as he came out of the shadows and into the kitchen. "Annabel here was just telling me about how you mowed the grass for us. Thank you."

Owen just nodded at him, going to stand next to his girlfriend. She was still upset, though really, Owen couldn't really see where the problem lied or why she and her mother had just gotten into it.

"I have a tee time to make, Annabel," Mr. Greene said to his daughter now. "I had just come home to change. Are you going to be okay with your mother or do I need to ask her to come in here?"

"It's fine, Dad."

"Good." He kissed her on the head again. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad."

He didn't move then though, just stood there, one hand on his youngest shoulder. Owen was beginning to feel awkward and went to go get another soda.

"Uh, Dad? What are you doing?" Annabel was staring up at him, frowning slightly.

"I don't know what time I'll get home tonight or if I'll even see you before tomorrow."

"So?"

He smiled at her then. "I'm just looking at you for the last time as a kid."

"Dad-"

"You'll be an adult tomorrow. You know that?"

"Of course. I can buy my own cigarettes now."

"You joke, Annabel, but you know you're excited." Andrew shook his head, kissing her one last time. "When I see you again, you'll be an adult. I'm just…I love you, okay?"

"Alright."

He stroked her arm before heading out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "No more fighting with your mother."

"Okay, Dad."

"And these few clothes you have on right now? This is as close to naked as you're getting with this boy over."

"Dad!"

He was already up the stairs then and didn't respond. Then it was just Owen and Annabel, both dressed for swimming, but neither really feeling like it.

"I'd kiss your head, but I don't want to get your dad's spit on my lips."

"Shut up, Owen."

He just laughed, heading towards the backdoor once more. "Your mom still out there?"

"Yeah."

"You ready to go back? And swim?"

"No," Annabel sighed, following him. "But I know you are."

Honestly, Owen could just stand inside, sip his coke, and stare at Annabel in her bathing suit. If she wanted to add the greatness of a swimming pool to that, who was he to stop her?


	4. Chapter 4

Summer Heat

Chapter 4

"Do you like the cake, Owen?"

He nodded, continuing to eat his second piece. "Yes. It's good."

Grace smiled at him, but it was a sad one. Then, to her husband, she said, "I think I'm going to go up to bed now, Andrew."

"Hmmm?" He was bent over the cake, cutting himself another piece. "Oh, sure. Goodnight, Grace."

"Goodnight. And happy birthday, Annabel. I hope you had fun tonight."

"I did," Annabel assured her mom as she slid her piece of cake onto Owen's plate as she was full. Owen, who was leaning against the counter, smiled, happy that he had more cake. "Thank you for taking me out to dinner, Mom."

"Of course."

"Thanks," Owen spoke up then, smiling over at his girlfriend's mother. "For letting me go."

She just smiled at him before heading off up the stairs. The second she was gone, Andrew went and grabbed a beer to go along with his second piece of cake, grumbling something about missing some of a baseball game under his breath.

It was after Annabel's birthday dinner and everything was kind of dying down. After they finished their cake, Annabel and Owen were allowed to leave, but so far, Owen's had made no notion of doing so. Not that they had anywhere to go anyways. Nowhere, but his house. His empty house…

"I didn't mean to make you miss the game, Dad," Annabel said as she went to put her plate in the sink. When she passed her father though, he just reached out with his free hand, hugging her from the side.

"You only turn eighteen once, Annabel." Letting her go, he headed to the living room. "You guys going out?"

Owen kept eating his cake, letting Annabel answer.

"We're going to Owen's house. He has my gift there."

"Two, Annabel. And I will be up, waiting."

"I know, Dad."

"Alright then."

It took another twenty minutes for them to get out of the house. Annabel had to go upstairs and change first into jeans and a t-shirt while Owen devoured more cake. He loved that cake. It was store bought and amazing. Expensive too. Great.

"You wanna get ice cream?" Owen asked Annabel once they were pulling away from her house. "Or something?"

"Bear, I'm not hungry." She patted her stomach. "I could hardly finish my cake.'

"Man, that cake was great. Best cake ever. I love that cake."

Giggling, she said, "You can get some more tomorrow when you come over."

"It's such a big cake," Owen gushed. "Like, that has to be the most expensive cake in the world."

"Well, I doubt that."

"I can't think of a better cake I've ever eaten."

"Bear, chill."

"God, it almost make me want to knock you up."

She faulted. "What?"

"Yeah. Then I could be over there all the time."

"…I think you have poor reasoning skills."

"Think about it, Bell. Then I would have your birthday to eat cake and the baby's."

"Yeah, if I get pregnant, something tells me that you won't be coming around my house much anymore. Call it intuition, but-"

"Please, your parents love me."

"Yeah, sure."

He smiled at her. "Anyways, no ice cream?"

"No ice cream. At least I don't want any."

"That's fine." He reached over with one hand, laying it on her thigh. "Let's just get to my house, huh? Everyone's out. It'll just be us."

"What did you get me for my birthday?"

"You'll find out soon."

"It's not more jewelry is it?"

"No."

"A shirt?"

"Yeah, Bell. You're eighteen and I got you a shirt. Aren't you excited?"

"Shut up, Bear."

"God, Bell. A shirt? Really?"

"I said to shut up."

"You're so abusive towards me."

"Yeah, well, life happens."

He laughed slightly, smiling over at her. "I love you, Annabel."

"I know."

"I'm in love with you too."

"Ooh, word play."

"Yeah, well."

Annabel sighed, leaning her head against the car window. "Wanna go buy cigarettes?"

"…I thought you already told that joke?"

"I could now. Buy cigarettes." She looked at him. "When you turn 21, you go out and buy beer, right? Why can't I see if I like smoking?"

"Because I don't like smoking. It stinks, it makes other things stink, and it'll make your breath taste bad. Not to mention it's an expensive addiction. So no, we're not going to get cigarettes."

"What about cigars?"

"Annabel."

"I just…I'm eighteen today. I'm adult. And what commemorated that? Going out to dinner with my parents? Like always?" She humphed. "I don't even feel like an adult yet."

"Well, you could always get arrested and get sent to real jail instead of juvie. That's adult."

"Bear, stop it."

"What else would you do, Annabel? Huh?"

"I'm just…disappointed."

"Yeah, well, the night's not over yet, okay?" Reaching over, he began to stroke her thigh now. "Besides, your parents gave you five hundred dollars. That's a freaking lot."

"I know."

"Then stop bitching."

"Owen-"

"I'm just..." He shook his head.

It wasn't lost on him that for his 18th birthday, his mother would bake him a vegan, nasty cake, Mallory would give him some stupid poster of a band he didn't really like, but would have to pretend to, and that would be that. Sure, Cam might give him ten dollars or his dad might send him a card, but nothing like what Annabel would be getting. His grandmother might send him a twenty and maybe his other grandparents and his step-grandmother might send him a shirt or shoes or something, but not five hundred dollars. And she was mad that she didn't 'feel' eighteen?

"You just what?"

"It's just different for me, okay? If I got five hundred dollars-"

"It's not about the money, Owen."

"It is though. For me."

"Then let's just not talk anymore." She pushed his hand off. "You always try to make me seem spoiled or something."

"You do a pretty damn good job of it yourself."

"Fuck you, Owen. God. If it's always going to bother you that my father's well off and likes to do things to me, then maybe you should just-"

"Shut up."

"You can't-"

"Just shut up." Owen reached forward, turning up his stereo. "I don't want to listen to you anymore."

"And like I want to listen to you? You're, like, so freaking random it's not even funny. You go from fine to angry in the blink of an eye. God, you're fucking mental."

"Oh, I'm mental? The girl that just got five hundred dollars for doing nothing, but making it to eighteen and is upset about it is telling me I'm crazy. Okay. Makes sense."

"Take me back home. You're an asshole."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. You're a jerk and I hate you. I fucking hate being around you half the time."

"Annabel-"

"I do. I hate it. So much. You always feel the need to make me feel bad, like that's the only way you can be happy." She wouldn't look at him now. "You're the worst boyfriend I've ever had."

It was silent after that, save the screaming that was coming out of Owen's speakers. No, not a screamo band, but actual screaming. Wailing, really. Annabel usually would have asked the relevance of it, but there was no way she was now. She didn't ever want to speak to him again.

"Get out," he said when pulled up to his house. "Now."

"No. Take me home."

"No, Annabel. We're going inside and-"

"Take me home or I'll walk home."

"The fuck you will." He got out of his car. "Get inside. Now."

"I-"

"Now."

She didn't want to, but really had no other option. There was no way she was really walking home. "Owen, I don't want to be around you. Especially not when you're angry."

"You can get the fuck over it."

"If you're going to keep yelling at me-"

"I'm going to give you your damn present and then you can go home, since you hate me so much. Since I'm the worst boyfriend ever. You know, since I all I've ever done is love you and everything, so it makes total sense."

"Owen-"

"It's so freaking hard, Annabel, every day, to deal with you. You get that? Do you?" He shoved his key in the lock before opening the front door into the dark house. "You're such a fucking tease."

"Oh, whatever. I've never told you I would do anything. I haven't 'teased' you with anything. You're just the stupid horny little loser that has no life. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be jacking off to porn when your mommy's out. Asshole."

"Fuck you."

He didn't mean to do it. Still, when he got to his bedroom, he planned on slamming the door behind him…only Annabel was also coming behind him.

"Damn it, Owen!"

"What? Wh- Oh my god." He rushed to her. "Did you get hit? Are you okay? Oh God. Did it hit your nose? Are you bleeding? Let me see. Come here. Come-"

Annabel waved him off. "You just hit my face. My God, Owen, you-"

"I'm sorry." His anger melted into regret. Now he had hurt her. She really was going to hate him now and not talk to him anymore and break up with him and then what? Then Rolly would be right. And what could he do? Annabel could get another boyfriend easily, one with money and a life and a nice car and a good job and that was actually going somewhere. She could have it all. She was-

"Are you…Owen, I'm the one that got hit. Why are you crying?"

"I'm not," he grumbled, shaking his head as he took a step back. Coughing, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" She raised an eyebrow, watching his eyes. "'cause you look like you're going to start-"

"I'm just angry, okay? You just…you make me so angry." He took another step away from her. "How can you break up with me?"

"Owen-"

"It's not fucking fair! I do everything for you and then you-"

"Calm down."

His anger was returning now as he paced the room. "You calm down! I was calm. This is all your-"

"Is this my gift?" Annabel was like a normal person and easily distracted from her anger. They'd had it out and now she was in a cool down period. She'd told him how much she hated him and even gotten to curse at him. She was fine now.

"Don't touch my stuff."

"It's mine now. Besides, I thought you'd give me anything?" She picked the box off his desk. "This is the poorest excuse for wrapping I've ever seen."

That couldn't be true though, as he hadn't wrapped it, at all. Instead, he had just put all of the things in an old cardboard box in the garage. Presentation wasn't his thing. It was the thought that counted, after all.

Owen didn't say anything as Annabel took a seat on the floor in front of his bed, the box in front of her. When she looked up at him, she didn't speak, but he knew what she was asking. She wanted to know if she could open it. Owen just walked around her, to her stereo.

"Owen," Annabel whispered. When he glanced behind him, he saw that she had taken his silence as a yes and opened the box. The first thing she pulled out was the folded up piece of notebook paper he had put in there, his version of a card.

"Don't even read it. Now that you hate me, why does it even matter?"

"I don't hate you, Bear," she whispered, her eyes glued to the paper.

"Yeah, well, you-"

"Oh my God, I love you." She looked up from the paper after she finished reading it. "I love you, Owen. So much."

"No, Annabel. You can't-"

"I do though." Then, quoting the paper, she said, "'I like the way your voice sounds when you're upset, I like the way you hit me in the arm and stomach and never once think that I'll hit you back, and I love the way you pretend to like music for me when you really don't.'"

"I wrote the note. I don't need to hear it again."

She ignored him. "'I like when you sleep in my bed, even though I get teased by Mallory for how it smells after. I used to think a lot about hurting myself, back in Arizona, but now I don't have to, 'cause I have you. You're the best friend I've ever had, even though sometimes you can get under my skin. Even when you do, which you do a lot, I can't help, but to think about how much I love you for it. At least you care enough to bother with me. No one else does anymore.'"

There was more to the note of course, a lot more really, but her point had been taken. Owen was facing her again, but was looking off, not wanting to see her face. Annabel was staring right at him though.

"It wasn't supposed to be like that," he told her softly. "I mean…I didn't want you to tell me that just because-"

"I've loved you for awhile, Bear," she interrupted. "I just never said anything because you made it so clear you didn't want me to, that you were going to be the only one saying it. Which is fine, I guess, but I just wanted you to know. 'cause I do love you."

"You said you hated me. You said-"

"I say a lot of things that I don't mean. I just got angry wit you, that's all. You were being mean to me for no reason."

No, there was a reason. Still, Owen just slowly went to go sit down with her.

"Owen," she whispered moving so she was leaning into him. "I'm going to be who I am. Always. My dad makes money. Nice money. I'm sorry that your parents marriage didn't work out and that your dad doesn't live with you guys or make good money. That's not my fault though. And if I sound bratty sometimes, fine, but you sound self-loathing sometimes too. We can play the pity game all we want, but at the end of the day, we are who we are."

He just sat there, letting out a slow breath. "You're not a brat."

"I can be," she told him. "I admit it. I'm not, like, too bratty though. But I am spoiled to some degree. We all are."

He shifted slightly so that he could look at her. "You didn't even look at the rest of your presents."

"I don't need those," she whispered to him as she leaned up to kiss him. "Only you."

As he rested his forehead against hers, Owen could still feel his hands shaking, his adrenaline still pumping from the argument they had had. He was still upset, but…but what?

"Bear," she whispered, staring into his green eyes. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."

"I'm not a little kid."

"Adults have feelings. Like me, now that I'm eighteen. And so do children, such as yourself."

"Ha ha." He poked her gently into the stomach, trying to be playful. "I, uh, meant what I said though. In that note."

"It's very nice." She looked down at the piece of notebook paper laying on the ground beside them. "Thank you for it."

"That's not it though. There's more."

"I'm aware." She glanced back into the box. When she turned to look back at Owen though, he kissed her this time, slowly moving to drag her into his lap. That's as far as that went though as suddenly his bedroom door opened.

"Owen, did you-"

"The hell?" Owen and Annabel jumped apart, him honestly scared for his life. He had thought no one was home. The car was gone, all the lights were off. How the heck was he supposed to know his sister was home?

"Mallory?"

"What? God, why did you yell? And why is your light off?" She turned it on, though she wasn't shocked to see Annabel there. "I just wanted to ask if you'd heard from Mom. She left me here at, like, seven and hasn't been back home yet."

"No," he complained as Annabel settled away from him, straightening herself. Owen would kill Mallory for making him miss her adjusting her boobs. He really would. "Why did she leave you?"

"I don't know. She said that her and Cam were going out."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"You said not to, that you were out with Annabel for her birthday." Then, suddenly remembering the other person in the room, Mallory squealed, "Happy birthday, Annabel!"

"Thanks," Annabel said, managing to smile at the younger girl, but it was hard. Her heart was still pounding, though if it was from the fight, what she was hoping Owen was going to do to her, or from Mallory scaring them she wasn't sure.

"I'll call Mom," Owen told his sister. "Or Cam or whatever."

"I have called. They don't pick up."

"Oh, they'll pick up for me," he insisted. "Go back to bed. Did you need something? I'm home now, for awhile anyways. And only then do I have to take Annabel home."

"No," Mallory told him. "I just wanted to know if you knew where they were."

"They're fine," he told her. "Go to bed, huh? I'm sure you have a doctor's appointment in the morning."

"I do not."

"Well, go to sleep anyways. You look tired."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Not if you would just willingly go."

That got Owen a glare. Then perking up slightly, Mallory called out, "Bye, Annabel."

"Goodnight, Mallory," she said, smiling at her once more.

When it was just the two of them in the room again, Owen got up and turned off the light before taking his place next to his girlfriend. She was now distracted from whatever they were going to do, instead focused on her present. Owen watched her for a moment as she opened the box again before pulling his phone out and calling his mother.

"Wow, Bear."

"Mmmhmm."

"You made me CDs," she said, pulling a few out of the, no joke, twenty something in there. All filled with stuff he knew she liked, not stuff he hoped to one day sway her into enjoying. "How did you know that I like Pop Rocks?"

"Who doesn't like Pop Rocks?"

"And jellybeans."

"You always eat those, when you eat candy."

She kept pulling stuff out of the box. "What's the chain for?"

He still had the phone to his ear, but reached over with his other hand and grasped her hand with his ring on. Gently pulling it off, he sat it in her palm.

"You can wear Kirsten's ring," he told her quickly, still distracted by waiting for his mother to answer. "You can wear my ring on that."

"Oh."

"I just…think that's best. So you always wear- Mom?" He tuned Annabel out as the person on the other line picked up. "Where are you?"

"Owen, I'm…can you call back later?"

"No," he said, frowning. "You left Mallory home alone and-"

"She's nearly in high school."

"And? She's sick."

"I just left for a few hours."

"She said that she called you and Cam and you didn't pick up."

"We left our phones in the car, Owen, that's all."

He heard it then, his aunt's signature laugh. Her drunk laugh. Oh God.

"You went out partying and left her home alone? How stupid-"

"Owen," Annabel whispered, reaching over to rub his thigh again. She knew that he had recently lost his filter and didn't want him to get in trouble with his mother for it. "Calm down."

He shut his eyes. "Mom, Mallory could have needed something. Something serious. And if I was out and you were out, drunk, then what? Huh?"

"Don't you talk that way to me, Owen."

He couldn't though, talk to her. Not anymore. Instead, he just hung up before turning his phone off. See how she liked it.

"Owen," Annabel whispered as he tossed his phone onto the bed above them. "Are you-"

"Your presents," he said, nodding at the box before taking the ring and chain out of her hand. "Finish your presents."

"Are you okay?"

"Presents, Annabel."

There were two DVDs in there, each chick flicks that he knew she loved. Then there were some cookies that he had made; he had even gone as far as to frost them. It was so cute. Also in the box was a liter of her favorite soda and goggles.

"I love it. All of it. But…the goggles?"

Owen just watched as stared down at them. "Aviator goggles. AN-6530."

"Hmmm?"

"That's what they're called." He reached into the box and pulled them out. "They were my grandpa's. He gave them to me when I was a kid. He was in the second world war."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm. He was a pilot."

"I've never known either of my grandfathers."

Owen gave her the glasses. "That sucks."

She just looked at him, frowning slightly. "Bear, if these mean a lot to you-"

"They do."

"-then why are you giving them to me?"

"Because, Annabel," he began, pulling her into his arms. "You mean a lot to me too. So much. I like giving you things that are important to me because you're important to me. I'd give up everything for you."

Leaning against him once more, she said, "I'm sorry I told you I hated you."

"It's okay."

"I don't hate you," she sighed, rubbing his thigh. "I love you."

He smiled slightly in the dark, not used to anyone outside of his family telling him that. It almost made him blush. Almost. "I love you too, Annabel."

"This is probably the best gift ever." She sat the goggles to the side before pulling the baggie of cookies out. "You want one?"

"Mmmhmm."

Pulling one out, she broke it in half before eating part and leaning up towards him, feeding him the cookie. Owen smiled at them while Annabel just shifted to sit back again. Owen turned to her then, putting the chain with the ring around her neck before clasping it on.

"There. Now you'll be mine, tape or no tape."

Annabel just stared up at him. "I'm yours, ring or no ring."

He kissed her then, shifting to lay her down on the ground. Annabel resisted though, turning her head.

"What?" he mumbled.

"Your sister's home and up."

"We can just make out," he told her, kissing her head this time. "If you want. It's your birthday, after all."

"So we get to do what I want."

"Exactly."

"I'm a little afraid of October then."

"Hmmm?"

"When it's your birthday, I'll have to do whatever you want. Right?"

Owen shook his head slightly. "I just like making you feel good."

"Mmmm."

He stood up then before moving to lay down on the bed. Annabel smiled, quickly moving to get up there with him.

"I don't think you're spoiled, Bella," Owen said as she snuggled into his chest. "And if you were, that's fine. It just…bothers me. I don't mean for it to."

"I know, but-"

"I want to be able to buy you things too. I want to be able to take care of you too. It's not fair."

She frowned. "Then…you're not jealous?"

"No. I mean, I get tired of you sometimes, the way you act with money, but I'm not jealous of you." He looked up at the ceiling. "I just…I'm never going to make that kind of money, Annabel. I'm not smart, I'm not going anywhere, I'm not-"

"You're not going to just sell pizzas for ever, Bear."

"I know that," he told her. "But I'm never going to get a good job."

"Only because you've already decided that. Owen-"

"There's no point it. I don't want to work for some business or something like that."

"That's not all college will give you." She stare up at him. "You can take radio class. Or-"

"I don't have money, Annabel."

"There's scholarships, there's-"

"You're just like a stupid teacher."

"I am not."

"You are too." He shifted some so that he was sitting up slightly. "You know how many people go to college, Annabel? And you know how little good it does for most people? What crappy jobs they get anyways? It doesn't matter, not unless you're insanely talented at something. You're still going to work at a dead-end job that you hate. You're still going to wish every day that you were dead. That's how life is."

They were both quiet for a minute or two, Annabel not knowing what to say to make him think differently and Owen not knowing why he felt the need to tell her that stuff to begin with. What did it change?

"I just want to be with you," Owen finally added. "For the rest of my life. I don't want to do anything else. I don't want to work. I don't want to go to school. I don't want to do anything. Everyone else says that I'm, like, crazy or obsessed with you, but I just…I love you."

"I know, Bear."

"And I…I know what Mom would say, about how I do this, how I get really, really into something and then, when I don't feel that way anymore, I get depressed, but this feels different with you. Everything feels different with you." He shook his head slightly. "I don't…I just don't know anymore, Annabel."

"It's okay."

He just let out a long sigh. "I fucked up your birthday, didn't I?"

"No."

"Bell."

"Just a little."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She patted his chest. "What's the point of a birthday if it's not memorable?"

He shut his eyes. "I have to get you home by two. Don't forget."

"I won't."

He smiled then. "Two in the morning. God. It's like your dad wants us to mess around."

"Shut up."

"It is though. I mean, God, the closer we get to two, the less I want to take you home." He stroked the back of her head. "I want you to stay here with me."

"Bear."

"I know."

"I love you," she told him, laughing slightly. "And I don't think you're creepy or weird or any of that. It'll get better, Owen. It has to."

* * *

When Owen left the house to take his girlfriend home, his mother still wasn't there. Even when he returned, she was out. Mallory had long fallen asleep though, so Owen decided all was fine. He did one more check of his sister and put out food for the stray cat they fed before heading off to bed. Or, well, to call Annabel.

There wasn't much for the two of them to say to each other. Everything that hadn't been spoken that day had either gotten out in actions or been show in that note he left for her. Still, it was ritual by now for them to speak to each other before going to bed. Not to mention, the night was finally over. Annabel's birthday was done. She had survived her first day as an 18 year old girl. Now all she had to do was survive the next 364.

"Where do you get off, Owen Armstrong?"

By that point, Owen was sleeping in bed, though he had not been like that long. That was the main reason his mother's low voiced accusation woke him.

"Huh?" He peeked his eyes open, looking around. It was still dark in his room, but he could make out his mother's shadowed figure in his doorway, leaning heavily on the doorjamb. "Mom?"

"Calling me, like you're the adult! What is wrong with you? You stupid little boy."

"Are you drunk?" She wasn't slurring her words, but it was obvious that she was intoxicated. This was the way she was, back when she used to drink, back in Arizona. Wine, always wine.

"Don't you talk to your mother that way."

"Are you serious right now?" Owen got up then, not caring that he was only in his boxers. "Mom-"

"You know how…how…embarrassing that was?" She trying to move towards him, but almost fell forward. Owen quickly went to steady her, but the second his hands were on her, Teresa slapped him. "Keep your hands off me!"

Now, Annabel hit Owen from time to time. Rather hard, he might add. However, being slapped was much different. He hadn't been slapped in years. Years. It stung. Owen let her go, backing away from her as he reached a hand up to his face. His mother caught herself, leaning heavily on his dresser. When she saw him standing there, holding his face, her drunken remorse began.

"Oh, honey," she cooed, pushing off the dresser towards him. "I'm so…so…so sorry. Owen…Owen…Come here. Come-"

"Get away from me," he whispered, just watching her now, no longer even rubbing his cheek. "Get out of my room."

"Baby-"

"Get out!" He hadn't wanted to shout, as he didn't want to wake his sister, but it seemed the only way to get through to her. "Now!"

She looked so hurt, staring at him. Still, he just stood there, waiting until she was out of his bedroom before locking the door.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

"She hit you?"

"Yeah," Owen sighed.

"Bear…do you need to come over?"

"She's asleep now, Annabel."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was last night," he said, shifting his phone to the other ear as he kept scrambling his eggs. "She'll probably sleep all day."

"Mallory still in bed?"

"Yeah. I'm just up, making breakfast."

"Do you need me?" she asked.

"I'll always need you," he told her. "But I think, right now, it's best if I just stay here alone, make sure everything turns out okay."

"I don't want her hitting you."

"She just slapped me."

"When my dad slapped you, you were ready to strangle him."

"Well, you're a girl. A woman. He's a man. He needs to keep his hands off you."

"Owen-"

"Don't get me worked up again."

That got her to giggle like he wanted. "Are you okay? For real?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Do you want me to let you go then?"

"No," he said, shaking his head, not caring that she couldn't see it. "I want you to keep talking to me."

"'kay. What do you want to talk about?"

"Mmmm…I dunno."

"Well," she began slowly. "I can't wait till you get over here later or tomorrow or whenever."

"Why?"

"So I can feed you more cake."

"Feed me, huh?"

"Mmmmhmm."

"Hand feed me?"

"If that's what you want."

"By the pool?"

"What is up with you and the pool, huh?" She sighed. "It's like that all you want me for anymore."

"No, that's not the only thing."

"Bear."

"What?" He was smiling though and she could tell from his voice. "I just meant I want you because I like spending so much time with you."

"Oh, whatever."

"I do. And I always will."

Annabel let out a long sigh. "I'm bored, Bear. You sure you don't want to come over?"

"Lunch, okay? We can eat lunch at your house."

"You want me to make us something?"

"Sure," he said. "Around noon?"

"That's good. I'll have to go to the store though."

"It's only…" He looked around to find a the kitchen clock. "It's only seven. You have time. Unless you wanna make it dinner…?"

"Lunch sounds okay. I can be quick at the store. Just something simple." She paused then. "I have to go though. I'm gonna go shower now, before I go to the store. I'll see you when you come over, huh?"

"Yeah, see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After he hung up, Owen took his eggs with him into the living room to eat while watching TV. He stayed there, watching cartoons even after he finished eating. He only had one summer left and it was this one. Should he spend it doing fulfilling or something more important, like cartoons? It was an easy choice, honestly.

"Owen?"

At that point, he was lounging on the couch, rotting his brain while texting Annabel on his phone. The mere sound of his mother's voice startled him though and caused him to look up.

"Mom?"

She had a hand to her head and looked rather ragged. She was still wearing the same clothes from the night before, clearly having slept in them, and her hair was a mess.

"I have the worst headache," she told him. "I have to go back to bed. Can you watch your sister today?"

He blinked. Was she not even going to mention last night? …Or did she not even remember it? Pretending, maybe?

"I'm going over to Annabel's for lunch."

She let out a loud groan. "Owen, I'm sick. Can you please-"

"Mom, you're not sick, you're hung over. And Mallory was fine when you left her last night all alone so you could get drunk."

"Excuse me?" She meant for it to come out in an authority way no doubt, but she was failing. "How dare you-"

"You slapped me last night for no reason! All I did was try to help you stand up and you slapped me! How dare I? How dare you!"

"Owen, wait. I don't…Cam thought it would be a good idea if I went out. I haven't been out in a long time-"

"And?" He was up now, cartoons that last thing on his mind.

"Your father gets to do whatever he-"

"Why can't we ever talk about something other than Dad? Huh? Dad's not here, he's not gonna suddenly be here, and you have to live with that." Owen knew he was yelling now, but it was better than hitting something…right? "You chose to keep us. You chose to take us out of Arizona. You made that choice, so you have to live with it. No one else, but you."

"Oh, whatever. Like your father really wanted you?" Teresa was spitting venom now, but it was true venom, the only kind her son dealt in. "Why do you think it was so easy to move you here, Owen? Up north? He didn't want you guys with him and he still doesn't. That's why you never see him. He never wanted kids and he definitely never wanted you. He jumped at the chance to get rid of us all."

There was so much to say to that. So much. But Owen couldn't. Because…how do you fight the truth?

"I'm going to Annabel," he said finally, heading to the door. He made sure to grab his boots as he passed by them.

"Oh no, you're not."

"Oh, yes, I am. Who's going to stop me? Dad doesn't care, right? And you're just as drunk as you used to be."

"Owen-"

It felt good to slam the door behind him. For a little while anyways. Ten minutes later, when he was knocking on a different door, it felt horrible.

"Bear, it is not noon-"

"I need you."

Annabel was standing there, her arms crossed, ready to scold him for his inability to be punctual. Something in his voice though, maybe the quiver, maybe the tone, made her stop though.

"What happened?"

"Everything. Just like always. It all happens at once."

Uncrossing her arms, Annabel quickly moving to grasp his hands and pull him into the house. "Mom's asleep, but Dad's out in the garage. Just don't wake Mom, okay?"

He just followed along as she led him to the kitchen. He saw the bags from her shopping trip on the table, but she just led him over to the counter, which she immediately jumped up on.

"You wanna tell me what's wrong?" she asked, staring at him. Owen just leaned down, resting his head against her shoulder.

"I just needed you. That's all."

"Silly Bear, can't you remember anything?" She ran a hand across his head, the silver chain around her neck rattling against the ring attached to it as she did so. "You'll always need me."


	5. Chapter 5

Summer Heat

Chapter 5

"I can't believe that you're getting your own show."

Annabel blushed. "Well, you know, it's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal? Annabel, do you know how long it took them to accept Owen and my show offer? And you didn't even offer! They just wanted yours from the ratings you brought while Owen was out. This is great. This is-"

"Shut up, Rolly," Owen said.

"What? I'm just trying to tell her how awesome this is," the guy's friend continued to gush. "And you got the Monday slot? Just wow."

"Would you be quiet?"

"Why aren't you happy for her?" Rolly took a sip of his coke. "I would be happy for my girlfriend."

"Yeah, well, right now you have no girlfriend."

Rolly scowled. "I told you, this time it's just a break, not a break up."

"Like the word up changes anything."

"Cut it out, Owen." Annabel reached over and laid a hand on his arm. "I think it's sweet, Rolly, that you and Clarke aren't going to see each other or anyone else until school starts."

"Anyone else?" He frowned at her. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Uh, from Clarke."

"…Oh. Well. Oops."

They were over at Annabel's house, hanging out in her living room. She had made them pizza rolls and given them sodas, so the boys were both fine. It was too hot to go anywhere, not that any of them had any money to do so. Well, Annabel did, but the boys didn't, but what else was new?

"What have you done?" Annabel frowned at him. "Rolly?"

"I just…I mean, it's been three days. What? Did she think I could swear off women for that long?"

Owen shook his head slightly. "I think she was banking on that no woman would want you in that span of time. Or in any span of time."

"You be quiet, you." Rolly pointed a finger at him before leaning forward from the chair and grabbed some pizza rolls off the table. "This doesn't involve you. You've been in a bad mood for days."

"I have not," Owen said as Annabel leaned against him. The two of them were sharing the couch, neither really sure why they had invited Rolly to hang out with them. Annabel would of course blame Owen, as he was really his friend, but by the same token, Owen would blame her, for she had a tendency to helping the needy. And boy was Rolly needy.

"You kind of have, Owen," Annabel told him, closing her eyes. It was such a lazy, hot summer day. He frowned, but didn't want to fight with her over something so silly. Instead, he just picked up his coke from the table and took a sip.

"Why can't we go swimming again, Annabel?" Rolly asked after a few minutes of silence, in which they had all fallen back into watching television.

"Because I don't want to," she told him. "You can use the public pool if you want."

"Ew."

"That's what I thought."

"Although," Rolly began, thinking. "I suppose there will be a lot of hot chicks there. Really hot chicks."

"Chicks is offensive," Annabel told him.

"Yeah, well, if she's gonna be with me, she had better get used to it." He smiled at Annabel then. "Can I go get another soda?"

"Sure," she said as he got up. "There's some in the fridge."

When it was just the two of them in the room, Owen asked her, "Can we get rid of him? Or something?"

"Bear-"

"We're home alone, but not really because he's here." Owen kissed by her ear, which was something new for them, something different. "Don't you want to do alone things?"

"He's your friend, Bear," she whispered as he kissed the side of her head now. "You make him leave."

"He likes you better."

"He doesn't like me."

"He does too. You're a girl. A woman. He likes you 'cause you got boobs and stuff. You appeal to him."

"I find fault in that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. If he does like me, maybe it's because he thinks I'm freaking awesome."

"…I think that sometimes you think too highly of yourself."

"But Snoogie, aren't you the one that told me I was perfect?"

"You are perfect."

"And freaking awesome?"

"Most definitely."

"Alright then."

When Rolly came back into the room, Annabel sat up, moving away from her boyfriend slightly.

"Rolly," she began as he took his seat once more. "Owen and I want you to leave."

"Huh?"

"We want you to be happy. Go find a girl to talk to and hang out with. You know, before Clarke find out that you're seeing people on this break."

"But I-"

"Here." She reached out and grabbed the plate of pizza roll, thrusting them towards him. "Take these."

"But Owen was my ride."

"There are a lot of girls here, just in the Arbors." She winked at him. "Hot girls. So, you know, you should probably just walk around some. You know, my neighbor's daughter's back from college. Sandy. In fact, I think that's her, taking out the trash right now."

Rolly followed her line of sight out the glass front of the house. "Do you think-"

"I heard her and her boyfriend, Richard, broke up. They'd been together for _years_. She's probably very vulnerable. In fact-"

"Say no more." Rolly quickly downed half the pizza rolls on the plate, much to the complaint of Owen, before heading to the door. "I'll see you guys later. Don't wait up, kiddies."

It wasn't until he was gone, when they were finally alone, that Owen spoke.

"Is that all it takes to get rid of him?"

Annabel watched from the glass front of the house as the long haired guy headed across her lawn, calling out to the older woman across the street. "I guess so."

"I could have used that many times throughout our friendship."

"I'm sure."

He kissed her head again, causing her to turn to look at him. "Let's go upstairs."

"'kay."

It was a fun journey, up the stairs, if only because halfway there, Annabel launched herself at his back, leaving Owen to have to carry her.

"You could have asked me to carry you," he complained as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck while he just reached behind him, finding her knees and pulling them across him. "I would have. Just not like this."

"I like this though."

"Yeah, 'cause you're not the one doing the work."

He dropped her off on her bed the second they were in her bedroom while he quickly went over to the stereo to put some music on. Annabel giggled, watching him as she moved up the bed.

"Bear?"

"Hmmm?"

"…Do you carry condoms on you?"

"No," he said, blinking at he turned to face her. "I don't."

"Oh."

"Did you-"

"No. I mean, not right now. I just wanted to know if you were, like, always prepared."

"No. I could be though, if I thought that we would be doing that any time soon."

"You don't think we will?"

"I don't."

"Do you, like, have any?"

"Hmmm?"

"Have you bought any? Before?"

She was blushing now, but he didn't see why.

"No."

"So you don't have any?"

"I have the few they give us in health class. And, uh, Dad kinda brought some with him, last time he came down. He didn't say much, but, uh, told me that I should have them. In case."

"Bet that was awkward."

"Yeah, well." Owen moved to get into the bed with her. "It's not as bad as when Mom wants to talk about sex."

"Ew. Really?"

"Yeah."

"What does she say?"

"Dumb things. It's just like when she asks me if I'm doing drugs. She always wants to act like she's still young, like she still gets it, like she does drugs and has sex too."

That made Annabel laugh. "You act like she'll never have sex again."

Frowning, he shook his head. "Let's not talk about that."

"What does she tell you? About having sex?"

"Before you? Nothing. Then when we started…dating, she started telling me that it was okay if I did have sex, she just wanted to know. And she's told me since I was in, like, the 7th grade that she knows that I'll want to 'experiment' with drugs and alcohol and it's okay, just so long as I tell her about it."

"So basically, you can do anything, as long as you tell her about it?"

"Basically."

"Wow. That's…weird."

"Is it?"

"Yeah." She shifted on the bed as he laid on his side, staring at her. "My mom and I don't even talk about that."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

He stared at her skeptically. "She's never talked about sex with you."

"No," she said slowly. "We're not like that, my family."

"You and your dad never-"

"God, no."

"Even after you told them about…Cash?"

She shook her head slightly. "They sent me to that…you know. Mom sent me to that therapist."

"Yeah, I know." That was all she talked about, back in January. She hated it. She didn't think she needed it. It didn't last long.

"That was their solution to things."

"Your dad likes talking to you though. Right?"

"He likes to tell me how much he loves me, now. He likes to tell me about how much time we spent together, when I was a kid. That's what he likes." She was on her side now too, watching his green eyes with her own blue ones. "It'd be weird, I think, if they knew that we were…so I'll probably never bring it up."

"You have to eventually."

"Why?"

"You know, so you can get birth control or whatever. Don't you need a prescription for them?"

"I think so. I guess. If you say so."

He gave her a slight smile. "I mean, that's assuming we ever actually have sex."

"Assuming so." She reached out, poking him in the chest. "You'll have to show me yourself then, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd have to see your…" She lost her courage slightly, blushing deeply at the thought. Owen smiled at her, looking off.

"I'd have to see you too, you know?"

"I know."

"Then…"

"Then what?"

He wanted to ask her what they were waiting for. If they both knew what had to happen and both wanted it to happen, then why weren't they allowing it to happen?

"Then…do you want to?"

"No."

She said it so easily, as if was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. Well."

His chest got another poke. "I just don't…I'll only know when I want to do it when I, you know, know. Until then though, I just-"

"You don't have to explain it to me," he told her, trying to sound casual, as if he discussed sex with pretty girls all the time. Just her and only a handful. "It's whatever."

"Rolly teases you about it."

"Hmmm?"

"I can tell. He makes little snide comments, sometimes, when I'm around you guys. I can only guess what he says when you guys are alone."

"Rolly can be an ass, sure, but he's a good guy."

"Except to the girls he dates."

"Yeah, well, if they're dating him, they're probably looking for a jerk."

"I guess so." She let out a long sigh. "I like Clarke though."

"I know."

"Don't you?"

"I like her enough. I don't consider her a friend, but I don't dislike her either. She's just someone to be around, when I have to."

Annabel moved closer to him now, resting her head against his. "Rolly mentioned something, when he was here."

"What?"

"When you went to the bathroom, when the two of you first showed up, he said something about you guys hanging out with some girl while I was gone."

Owen frowned. "Clarissa?"

"I guess."

"She helped us out at the station while you were gone."

"What?"

He nodded. "We texts sometimes. I think I told you."

"I don't think you did."

"I think I meant to."

"You still didn't."

"Well, she did. We took her out to World of Waffles with us, afterwards."

"You pay?"

"Annabel-"

"'cause if you did, then it's a date."

"It is not."

"It is too."

"Then did you and Rolly date? He paid for you, that first time, 'cause he never talked to Clarke."

"That's different."

"How?"

"He paid for you too. He lost a bet. Different."

"It is not."

"So you did pay for her."

"No," Owen said, shaking his head. "I didn't."

"Bear."

"I'm not lying to you. I offered though, since she had helped out, but she said no."

Annabel blinked. "You were going to pay for another girl's dinner."

"Breakfast."

"Don't play semantics on me."

"I'm pretty sure this whole thing is semantics."

"Oh, I doubt you even know what semantics are."

"Oh, and you do?"

"Yes, Owen. I'm actually intelligent."

"What are you calling me?"

"I don't know. What's a three letter word for a nocturnal bird?"

"That is a hard thing to think of. Who thinks of an owl as a nocturnal bird?"

"Um, try a three year old."

"Um, try not being such a-" He stopped himself, watching her eyes to see if they were kidding or not. He felt like he was, but he also knew that they could go from joking to fighting faster than anyone he knew.

"Say it. A bitch."

"N-"

"Mr. Honesty, was that your name?"

"Even if it was, I didn't say it."

"And what does that count for?"

"I'd like to think a lot." He was the one to poke her this time. "If I'm Mr. Honesty, what are you?"

"What am I?"

"Mmmm…You can't be Mrs. Honesty."

"No, I can't."

"Mainly 'cause you're not honest."

"I try."

"You do," he conceded. "You can't be Ms. Liar either."

"I don't lie much."

"You try not to."

"Mmmhmm."

"You're not very good at it anyways."

"I'm kind of good at it."

He gave her a look.

"Fine, I'm terrible at it. To anyone that pays attention. Most people just accept what you tell them."

"Yeah, well, most people are idiots."

Annabel reached out, resting a hand against his cheek. "Rolly shaved his beard."

"Hmmm?"

"That little goatee he had going. He's shaved it."

"And?"

"I just…Why do you shave so much, Bear? I think you shouldn't."

"Shouldn't what? Shave?"

She nodded. "I think you should grow out your…beard or whatever."

"Hmmm."

"At least test the waters, see what it would look like. You know, before school starts or whatever. And if I don't like it, then you can shave it."

"If you don't like it, huh? And what about what I want?"

"I've never really seen how that factors into anything."

"Of course not."

* * *

"It feels weird, doesn't it?"

"Mmmm."

Owen sighed as he ran a hand down the back of Annabel's head. "Just being shirtless."

"Mmmm."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Mmmm."

They were over at his house, where he had told her to meet him after he got off from work. His mother, Cam, and his sister were off somewhere. Not that he cared. He had had been having as little interaction with his mother as possible and planned of it to stay that way.

Anyways, as was the norm now, the second they were alone, Annabel and Owen fell into their new ritual. He now let her touch him freely, though neither of them had yet to fully get naked. It was enough to get Owen off though, for now, so he was fine. He had even taken his shirt off, or at least allowed Annabel to take it off him. This hadn't really excited her as much as it would have him had the roles been reversed, but it was still something.

Now, as they laid there in his bed, neither having anything else to do that day, Owen couldn't get over how much he liked this new step. Sure, losing the shirt wasn't much, but it was something. Perhaps Annabel's shirt would be next. Yes, he would rather enjoy that.

"Would you rather I just be quiet?"

Annabel sighed, finally looking up at him. "You wanna talk?"

"Yeah."

"'kay." She stroked his chest now, running her finger down it. "Tell me how you hurt yourself?"

He frowned slightly. "I told you, I cut myself with that knife when I was cutting the apple yesterday."

"No, Bear. I meant what you were talking about in the note." She was still staring at him. "You said that you used to want to hurt yourself. Tell me about that."

He blinked, it dawning on him then that writing that hadn't been his best idea. Still at the time he was still high on life and had felt the need to share it with her. Then again, it would have come out eventually anyways.

"Bella-"

"Tell me."

"It was just…I didn't…have anyone in Arizona. At all."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged as best he could with her laying half on him. "I didn't have friends, only enemies. It's always been that way. Until Rolly and you."

"It has not. Everyone has friends. Except like, that Steven King girl. But you're not from a Steven King book, are you?"

Still, he just stared down at her. "I'm not saying I never had friends, Annabel. I'm saying that my sophomore and freshman year sucked. It was like every fucking day, every fucking day, they were on my case and it was like fuck it. Just fuck it. There's no point. At all. Why even lift up your head every fucking time if they're just going to slam it back down? Huh? Huh? There's no point. There's-"

"Bear." She pushed herself up slightly, planting her hands firmly in his chest to do so. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," he told her, now staring up at the ceiling. "I couldn't. I even fucking failed at that. I couldn't even drag a fucking blade across my fucking skin. Do you know how shitty that is? What a shitty person I am if I can't even kill myself right?"

"Bear-"

"No, Annabel. You don't get it."

"Oh, I don't get being alone? I don't get horrible things happening?"

He stared at me for a moment. "Okay, maybe you do. Maybe. But at least you're still pretty. At least people still like you. At least you can go somewhere else, be someone knew, and still get by. I can't do that. I just can't."

For a minute, Annabel was silent as she stared at him, trying to find the words she wanted to say. "You mean you couldn't."

"What?"

"You couldn't," she repeated. "Not you can't. Can't would mean that you still wanted to do it."

He didn't say anything.

"Owen." She reached out, laying her hand against his cheek, waiting for him to look at her. "Do still want to-"

"No," he told her just as quickly as she had told him no to having sex. "I have you."

As they stared at each other, each thinking a different thing, Annabel became acutely aware of how everyone else could perceive his clinginess as a problem.

"Owen," she said slowly. "You have more than just me. You know that."

Still, he didn't speak.

"And if I broke up with you…you wouldn't…Owen…"

"I wouldn't what?"

"Hurt yourself? Or, like, try to kill yourself?" She was looking into his eyes, but this time, there was no love there, only fear.

"It doesn't matter," he told her in that honest way he had. "'cause we're gonna be together forever. You're not going to break up with me."

"But if I did-"

"You won't."

"Owen-"

"You won't. Why do we have to talk about things that won't happen?"

Annabel felt something in that pit of her stomach that didn't sit well. Still, she couldn't even begin to describe what it was exactly. It just wasn't…right.

"You have to promise me, Owen, that you won't do anything if we break up."

"I-"

"Owen-"

"Fine! Fine, I fucking promise that I won't fucking-"

"Why are you so angry?"

"Because this is stupid." He sat up, making her fall off him. "This is all so stupid. We're not going to break up. Ever. So why do I have to make some stupid promise-"

"If you don't think we're ever going to, then why are you having such a hard time making the promise? Huh? And if we did, would you?"

He didn't answer as he got out of bed and went over to his stereo, planning on switching the CD. "Stupid-"

"Owen, this is like the stuff they warn you about."

"Who warns you about?"

"Everyone. Like…it's one of those warning signs of a bad boyfriend or whatever."

"What?"

"Yeah, it's up there with beating and stuff."

"It is not."

"It is too. When you try to break up with a guy and he either threatens to kill himself or threatens to kill you, that makes him crazy and abusive."

"It does not."

"Owen."

"I mean, yeah, saying he'll kill you is abusive, but the other is not."

"It is too."

"I wouldn't do it anyways, alright? Kill myself for you." He snorted. "I would never kill myself for you. Like you're that big of a fucking catch."

"Stop cursing already."

"You're the one that-"

"Let's just stop. It's over. The fight is over. You're not going to kill yourself and I'm not going to bring it up again."

"No," he said slowly. "I'm not going to kill myself and you're not going to break up with me."

"And what if you break up with me? Huh?"

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, Owen. Why do you ever break up with someone?"

"I don't ever break up with anyone."

"That's because you've never had the freaking chance."

"Well, I don't want to ever break up."

"You don't know though, Owen. You think that things will always be great."

"Because they will."

"They won't."

"Why do you always have to tell me about how bad things will be? Huh? Did you ever think that they've been bad with all your other boyfriends because you weren't meant to be with them? Huh? Because you were meant to be with me?"

"Oh God, Owen. Fate? Do you really believe in that?"

"No. I do though think that we're together because we're supposed to be. That we're with each other for a reason."

"And what reason would that be?"

"I was there for you when you needed me."

"When did I-"

"When all that shit happened with Sophie and Cash. I was there for you."

She blinked, sitting there on his bed, watching him. Swallowing, Annabel said, "Well, that's over."

"Oh, it's over? All that stuff is over?"

"Yeah, it's over."

"If it was over, Annabel, then you wouldn't still be having nightmares."

"That…That's not what that's about."

"Then what is it? What makes you so scared at night that you can never sleep? Huh? What?"

"I don't know, Owen." She locked eyes with him once more, not shocked to find his green one's wild, angry. "I really don't."

"Then maybe I'm supposed to be there for you now, with whatever the heck's going on with your nightmares."

"It's not like I'm having nightmares for some out there reason. It's only because…"

"Because what, Bell?" He was watching her now, his voice softer. "What are you so afraid of? Huh? What can't you tell me?"

"Nothing. I don't know…"

"You don't know or it's nothing?"

"Owen-"

"Is it your family?" He was walking over now, coming to sit next to her again. 'Your dad? Does he, like, hurt you?"

"God," she groaned. "What is it with the two of you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"''Is he hurting you?'" She rolled her eyes. "That's all he ever asks about you. You're not going to start that stuff too. God. No one is hurting me."

"Okay, I believe you," Owen said as reached over, rubbing her knee. "That's just where my mind automatically went."

"I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"The two of you get along so well when you're together, playing videogames or watching baseball, but the second you're apart, all you do is belittle the other."

"I do not belittle him."

"You do too. All the time. And he does it about you too. It's annoying." She looked up at him. "It's like you're jealous of each other."

"Well, that would be extremely disgusting."

"Not in that way, freak." She hit him gently in the chest, reminding her that he was still shirtless.

"In what other way could your father and I both be jealous of the same person?"

"It's just…like territorial."

He considered this. "Well, I win."

"You do not win."

"Yes I do."

"You do not."

"He might have peed on it first, but I peed on it last and will continue to pee on it. I win."

"Ew." She hit him again, but this time he grabbed her hand, moving to entwine their fingers. Silence fell over them after that, each lost in their own world for awhile. Slowly, Owen moved to lean back against the wall, pulling her to settle in against his chest.

Falling into place against him, Annabel asked, "What are you?"

It took him a second to find his voice again. "What do you mean?"

"You said you don't believe in fate."

"I don't."

"Do you believe in God then?"

"I do," he said, nodding.

"Then what are you?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you?" she repeated. "Like…Catholic or-"

"I'm from the Southwest, Bell. I'm Southern Baptist."

"Oh."

"What are you?"

She poked his chest. "I'm a Christian, I guess. We don't really go to church or anything. It's just, you know, presumed that that's what I am."

"What do you want to be?"

"I don't know. I mean, I know there's a God. I just never really think about it a lot."

He stroked her back. "Mom's not a Christian."

"Yeah, I figured that."

"She's…weird, is what she is."

Annabel giggled. "I feel like she's one of those people that believe in a high power and doing a lot of drugs to reach it and everything."

He made a face down at her. "My mom's not a drug addict."

"I'm not saying she is."

"I feel like you are."

"Yeah, well."

He pressed into her side now with his thumb, making her squirm.

"Bear!"

"I love you." He pressed his nose into her hair, her dark hair. He didn't like it, no matter if he could tell her or not. It wasn't her. It was someone else. He couldn't wait until it was blonde again. All the girls he had crushed on back in Arizona, they had never been blonde. They'd been dark headed, red headed, anything other blonde. Those were all different though. Very different. This was Annabel. This was his, this was safe, and this was real.

"Yeah, I know."

He shook his head. "I think we fight too much."

Considering this, she said, "Even if we do, at least we make up quickly."

"Guess so."

* * *

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!"

Owen groaned. "Rolly, shut up. I'm serious."

"Shiver me timbers. How dare ya address ya cap'ain in such a way!"

"Get in the fuck in the car, dickhead."

"I'mma Cap'ain Jack Sp-"

Owen finally just shoved his friend in the back of the Land Cruiser. That night, when Owen got off work, he found that he had a message on his phone from Annabel, who had gotten a call from Rolly, who had gotten drunk at some bar and called her to come get him. Now, here they all were, in Annabel's front yard, all hoping that her parents didn't suddenly pull into the driveway.

"I didn't even know he had a fake ID," Annabel told Owen, crossing her arms, watching as their drunk friend settled in on CDs and their cases. "I wouldn't even have gone to get him except I was afraid he was going to get busted. It wasn't even him who called. It was-"

"Yeah, I know, one of his dick Fountain friends. They called my phone first. I was at work though. I only answer when it's Mom or Mallory."

Annabel shook her head. "You listen to the message? He was, like, harassing some girl or something."

Owen looked into the window of his car, staring in on his friend. "What was he doing to her?"

"I don't know. His stupid friends had ditched him, around the back of the building. He was vomiting up his freaking intestines."

"Good," Owen said, still watching Rolly. "Hopefully he won't puke in my car."

"You'll kill him if he does, won't you?"

"I make no promises."

Annabel leaned towards him then, standing up as tall as she could so she could kiss him. It started as a peck and stayed that way as she moved back away from him.

"Get gone, Owen, before my parents show up. They'll kill me."

"Aye-aye."

"You're hilarious, Armstrong," she said, pushing him away slightly.

"Well, I try."

"Now go," she said, heading back up towards her house now. "Call me when you get home, huh? I haven't even gotten to tell you about what happened with my mom and Kirsten."

"What happened?"

"I told you, you'll only find out when you call me tonight."

He growled as he turned to get into his car. Opening the door, he said, "Alright, Rolly, you've already screwed my night. You wanna go home or am I dropping you somewhere?"

"I'mma choose," Rolly said from the back of the car. "'cause I'mma the cap'ain."

"That's the plan," Owen sighed, waving one last time at Annabel, who was now standing in the doorway of her house, watching them. "Shithead."

"Cap'ain," his friend reminded him.

"That's right. You're Captain Shithead."

Rolly made a loud noise at that one as Owen pulled out of the driveway. Then he groaned. "I feel like shit."

"That's 'cause you are shit, Rolly. And if you ever call my girlfriend again to pick you up-"

"Annabreast loves me."

"Here name is Annabel."

"…I think I'mma be sick."

"You puke in my car, on my CDs, I'll make you eat it."

That got a laugh out of the drunk. Then, just as suddenly, he fell to the floorboards.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Owen glanced back at him. "I hate you right now. I really hate you right now."

"I hurt."

"Yeah, Captain, you're hurt," Owen sighed, shaking his head. "You're hurt. Now where do you wanna go? Home?"

"No. No! Not home." Rolly moaned. "Clarke."

"I'm not taking you to Clarke."

"Parents out. Gone." Rolly lifted his head up suddenly. "To Clarke's!"

"Rolly-"

"I'm lea'er."

"I thought you were the captain?"

"That too."

Owen let out a long breath. "Fine. To Clarke's. Whatever. You can be her problem now."

Clarke's family lived close by. Not in the Arbors, but close by. Their house was actually older than the Arbors housing development, but still just as nice. Owen had been there before, a couple of times, and though it wasn't glass, it put his house to shame.

"He's what?"

Owen nodded. "He's in the back of my car, drunk, and asking for you."

Clarke stood there, staring at him, frowning slightly. She was clearly getting ready to go out for the night, even though it was already midnight. Then again, considering her parents were out, Owen had no idea what shenanigans she was planning on getting in.

"And?"

"Clarke, he got kicked out of a club, called Annabel to pick him up, and has already vomited. You're not going to get thrown up on or slept with. He's going to pass out in a few minutes. He says that your parents are out. My mom isn't. So can you take him? Please?"

"I've got a date."

"At midnight?"

"Who are you? My father?"

Owen groaned, looking off. "I'm not keeping him. He's your boyfriend."

"We're on a break."

"Yeah, well, then you should end the break now because I'm dropping him off on your lawn."

"You are not. Owen-"

"Rolly," Owen called as he headed back over to his car. Opening the door to the backseat, he said, "Clarke wants you."

"Yo ho, yo ho."

"Oh, there's a ho ho," Owen agreed, pulling his friend out of the Land Cruiser before letting him go. An object in motion and all that caused Rolly to propel himself into the grass, where he stayed for a moment before rolling onto his back.

"Rolly!" Clarke rushed out onto the lawn, moving to get to her boyfriend. Or was he her ex-boyfriend now? Owen was never good with those kind of things. "Damn it, Owen."

"Yeah, I like it better when Annabel says it. See? That's why we're together, 'cause we like things about each other." Owen smiled down at his drunk friend. "Right now, Rolly, I don't like you. So, I'm going to go home and call Annabel now. You cool?"

"Mmmm. Owen. Cap'ain down," Rolly groaned as Clarke got on her knees next to him. "Mmm. My lady liege."

"Wrong time period, bro," Owen said as he head back over to his car. "Thanks, Clarke."

"Fuck you, Owen."

He gave her the finger back. "Yeah, well, if you didn't play along with him so much, we wouldn't be here right now."

"Cap'ain Shithead," Rolly groaned before promptly turning and depositing what was left in his stomach. "Mmmm. Pizza."

"Later guys." Owen said as he got into car.

"God, what if my neighbors see? Owen, help me get him in the house. My mom and dad will kill me!"

"Maybe you should have been nicer," he said as he closed the door. When he was sure she couldn't hear him, he added on, "Bitch."

Apparently though, she had heard it. Or so he found out later, when his phone rang on the drive back home.

"Don't you ever call another girl a bitch."

"Love you too, babe," Owen said simply as he put his phone on speaker before tossing it into the passenger seat.

"Clarke is my friend."

"No," Owen said slowly. "I'm your friend. Clarke is your boyfriend slash best friend's other best friend's girlfriend or occasionally ex-girlfriend."

"…You're an idiot. And if you ever call her a bitch again-"

"Even Rolly calls her a bitch. We do it all the time. She's an uptight bitch. What's wrong with saying that?"

"It's like you're not even the same guy when you're with Rolly. My God, Owen."

"If the boot fits-"

"Does Rolly call me a bitch?"

"Hell no. I'd hit him."

"Owen."

"Well, I'd yell at him. Very loudly. And then I wouldn't talk to him for awhile. Punish him. I might even poison him."

"Oh whatever. Just don't do it again. And why didn't you take him home? Clarke said that she asked you not to leave him there."

"Look, Bell, I don't want to talk about Clarke or Rolly or bitches or whores-"

"You called her a whore? When?"

"…This isn't about the past. This is about right now. And right now I want to talk to you, about what you did today. What did you do today? What happened between your mom and sister? That's what I want to hear about."

"Are you sitting down?"

"I'm driving."

"Then see? I can't tell you yet. You might crash, it's such a dramatic story."

"Might I crash?"

"You very well might."

"I'm weighing my options."

"What are they? Crash or what?"

"Crash or die of anticipation."

"I might have oversold the story."

"Not you. Not Annabel."

"Shut up."

"You know what Rolly called you? Annabreast."

"What?"

"Yeah. I think it's 'cause you were wearing a boob shirt."

"I am not wearing a boob shirt."

"When I picked Rolly up from you, you had on a boob shirt."

"I was not."

"You were too. You know you were," Owen accused. "It had to have been hard to find one, considering how small your boobs are and everything."

"Oh, we're going there?"

He chuckled slightly. "I tell the truth."

"You fit in the palm of my hand."

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding," she said.

"Were you? I wasn't."

"Owen."

Smiling he asked, "Can I tell you about what I did at work today then? If you won't tell me about your day yet?"

"Sure."

"I delivered pizza somewhere interesting."

"Where?"

"To your dad's work."

"Bull."

"I did. They ordered, like, seven larges. They're having a party."

"Yeah, I know."

"Isn't he like an architect or something?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Your mom was there."

"I know."

"She spoke to me. Didn't seem too upset about Kirsten or whatever."

"She hides her pain well."

Owen paused, knowing that that was way too true. "Some people are better at it than others, sure. You do it well too, you know."

"Do I?"

"Mmmhmm." He nodded even though he knew that she couldn't see it. "Must be where you get it."

"Must be."

It was then that he pulled up to his house, parking in the street. As he got out, he made sure to grab his phone, switching it off speaker and back to normal before pressing it against his ear.

"I'm home now. Tell me the story."

"Are you sitting down?"

"I'm about to be."

"Bear, you should know by now that if you're not actually doing it, it doesn't count."

"Is that so? So you're saying when I thought about hooking up with you back before we got together, we weren't really hooking up?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Well, then I have no idea when our real anniversary is. I thought it was right after school started."

"Nope."

"Damn."

"Damn indeed."

"Well, then I guess you're gonna have to wait for your gift."

"What was my gift?"

"Birth control."

"You're so funny these days."

"Yeah, I know," he agreed as he unlocked his front door and stepped into the house. "I-"

"Where the hell have you been?"

Owen frowned, finding that his mother was home, like he thought, but was also up, unlike what he had thought. "What?"

"What?" Annabel asked on the phone, having no idea he was talking to his mother. "Bear?"

"Uh, Annabel, I have-"

"Yeah, you had better hang that up, right now." His mother was up suddenly, coming towards him. "Give me the phone."

"What? N-"

She snatched it from him. It wasn't hard, really, as he wasn't fighting her for it.

"Owen has to go, Annabel," she said simply into the cell phone before hanging it up.

"Mom," he complained, no longer confused, but rather angry, if not pissed. "What the-"

"It is one in the morning, Owen. Where were you? With her? With that girl?"

"That girl has a name."

"You smell like beer. Were you out drinking again?"

"No! Rolly-"

"When it was just you and Rolly, I don't remember you ever coming home drunk, Owen. Since you've been with Annabel-"

"Once. I came home drunk once." He stepped around her. "And aren't you the one that always tells me its okay?"

"It's okay when you're telling me about it. It's okay when you're doing it to experiment. It's not okay when you're doing it to-"

"To what? I mean, let's just ignore the fact that I'm not and delve into the reason it's not okay tonight? Because you don't feel very happy so I can't be happy? Is that it?" He headed off to his room now. "You know, since Mallory got sick, you've been a real downer."

"Oh, have I?"

"Yes! God, have you not freaking noticed?" He opened his bedroom door, but didn't slam it, remembering how he had hit Annabel with it that day, her birthday. "You know, you'd think you'd be happy for me."

"Happy about what?""

"Happy that I'm happy."

"This is happy?"

"It was before you took my fucking phone from me! I was happy talking to Annabel. I'm happy being with Annabel. But for some reason you-"

"What is it with you and this girl? It's like she's all you can think about anymore. There are more important issues going on here, Owen."

"There is nothing more important to me than her, so no, there's not. Maybe there is for you, but I don't care what's important to you anymore. Not since you freaking slapped me."

"Not this again."

"Yes, this again." He went over to his bed and sat down on it, shaking his head as his mother stayed in the doorway, watching him. "You hit me. You striked me."

"It didn't hurt you. I've told you I'm sorry. What more do you want, Owen?"

"It's not fair! You got to do that and what? No punishment? If I hit you, you'd have me right back on a plane to go live with Dad. If I talked that way to you, you'd ship me off to go stay with Grandpa. It's not fair."

"I'm an adult, Owen."

"Yeah? Are you?" He stood then and though he didn't tower over his mother, there was a definite high difference. She was tall, but just for a woman. He was tall for a woman or man. Not to mention, just bigger all around. "'cause guess what? In a few months, in October, I'll be an adult too. And then what? Huh?"

"Owen, you stop it. Now."

"Why are you even mad at me? 'cause I'm a little late? During summer? I had to take Rolly home. Would you rather I had left him drunk, over at Annabel's?"

"Why did Annabel-"

"Because she was trying to be a good friend, just like I was trying to be. If you're going to punish me, are you really going to let it be because I'm a good friend? That's bull, even for you."

"Why was he drunk, Owen?"

"Because he wants to be. I don't know. I don't care. I don't ask. If he's not offering, I'm not listening. I have Annabel to deal with and that's enough for me." He walked passed her now, back out into the hallway. "I don't want be here right now."

"And where will you go, Owen?"

"I don't care anymore. I just don't want to be here."

She turned, staring at him. For a moment, she just stood there, watching. Then, randomly, she said, "It's struck, by the way."

"What?"

"You said striked. That is not a word. I did not striked you. I struck you. You don't get striked by lightening, you get struck." She shook her head. "I can't believe it sometimes, that you're actually about to graduate high school. Especially at moments like this, when I find out that your English teachers have done nothing for you."

"…Are you insulting me, Mom?"

She let out a long sigh. "Owen, all I'm saying is that you're not as smart as you think. You don't understand the world the way you think you do. You're not ready to be an adult yet. I don't care your age, whether it be 18 or 19 or even 21. You're still just a boy. You still don't get most of life. So don't pretend like you do."

"I'm going to Annabel's."

"It's the middle of the night."

"Her curfew's two."

"What?"

He shrugged as he headed back out to the living room. "Ground me later. I'm getting out of here right now."

"Owen, you stop it. I mean it."

"Or what?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" she finally yelled at him as he made it to the front door. "I'm sorry that I hit you. More than sorry. I…I didn't mean to get that drunk. I haven't since…I was with your father. I used to…I was bad, Owen. Back then. And I don't want to get that way again. I messed up a lot, when you were a kid, I know that, but I'm better."

"You weren't that night."

"It's been hard, Owen. Stressful. Your sister is…very sick."

"I know that."

"I don't think…it's not doing much. The treatments."

"That I know as well."

"They're very costly."

"Then maybe you shouldn't spend so much on alcohol."

"Owen."

"What? I mean, God, why are you telling me-"

"I'm telling you why I-"

"I don't care, Mom. I don't care why you do things you shouldn't. I don't care why anyone does. There's always a reason for what someone does, always. It doesn't matter. Not the reason, but the action. The action matters."

"I'm sorry, Owen. I won't hit you again. I shouldn't have." She was still speaking to his back, as he still had his hand on the doorknob. "But if you walk out that door, you might think about not coming back, because it won't be fun for you here. I've never given you strict rules, but I will, if that's what it's going to take to curve your tongue, to make you realize that you do not run this house. I do."

His hand fell. "Even when you're wrong?"

"Especially then."

* * *

"She really couldn't do that, could she?"

"Do what? Boss me around? She's my mother."

"No, stupid."

"Hey-"

"Send you away. To live with someone else. Could she really do that?"

"She could try. I would never leave you. Or at least, I would take you with me."

He felt it when Annabel smiled against his chest.

"You'd take me with you?"

"Yes. In a bag."

"Have to be a big bag."

"Not that big. You're rather small."

"Rather?"

"Meh."

His bare chest got a kiss. "You're rather big."

"I am."

"Enormous."

"Not really."

"I feel like you are." She lifted her head then, to stare at him. "You ready to hear about Kirsten and Mom?"

They were over at her house, spending another summer day together, once again by the pool, This time though, instead of swimming in it, like Owen had wanted, they were making out and mess around. Which was nice too. He had come in his trunks in preparation for swimming, but it was good to have such lose shorts on anyways, in case something changed, in case they did more than just mess around.

"'course," Owen said, staring up at the sky. They were in one of those pool chairs, one of those long ones. Owen was laying back in it, Annabel on him. It was a dangerous position, out in the open, but they were home alone. It was a weekday. Her parents were out.

"'kay." She shifted slightly, knowing that he liked the feeling of her in her bikini on top of him. It excited him. "So Kirsten has been on Mom's case about the whole cheating thing."

"Right."

"Even though Mom told her that she's had enough hearing about it, that it wasn't Kirsten's marriage, it wasn't Kirsten's life."

"Okay."

"And so Kirsten called yesterday to tell Mom that for the wedding that, mind you I don't even think will happen or should happen, Dad couldn't walk her down the aisle or even come. At all. Because he was a bastard. And hated him. And she thought that he was disgusting, that he was a pig, and that she wanted nothing to do with-"

"You do a lot of talking behind our backs, Annabel, when no one is home? Perhaps that's why your mother doesn't like you to be home alone with Owen so much."

It would be an understatement to say Andrew's voice scared the shit out of the two teens, Owen flushing while Annabel responded to hearing it by trying to get out of her boyfriend's lap, thinking that would be a more punishable offense. The only problem was that in her mad scramble to escape him, she got caught up and fell backwards out of the chair, landing hard on the ground.

"Bella," Owen said as he moved to help her get up. Andrew just sighed, continuing on out of the house, not shutting the door behind him as he went to check on his daughter.

"Are you okay?"

She blinked, not sure why guy had asked that, as they were both looking at her questioningly. Instead of assigning either of them with it, she just said, "Fine, thanks."

Owen still stood, reaching down immediately to help pull her up. Her father just shook his head again before frowning.

"How many of these do you own?" he asked, frowning at her bathing suit.

"Dad."

Not enough, if you asked Owen, but no one was, so he just went over to the patio table to take a sip of his coke.

"Why are you home anyways?" Annabel asked her father. "What happened to work?"

"I had a meeting and came home after. It is my house, Annabel."

"I know," she said, looking off, at the pool. "We were just…"

"Just?"

"Hanging out, that's all."

Andrew made a noise. "Well, I'm home now. And what was going on out here before, won't be again. Understood?"

Annabel just nodded while Owen kept downing his coke, not caring that he wasn't that thirsty. Anything to keep away from his girlfriend's father. It was only after he went back into the house that Owen even went over to Annabel.

"Are you really okay?"

"Yeah," she said, glancing behind her. "My butt just hurts."

He took a glance too. "It is a nice butt. Delicate."

"Is it?"

"Mmmhmm."

She patted her own butt. "Probably bruised it. That hurt."

"Poor Bella."

"Poor me."

"Maybe swimming would alleviate it."

"What is with you and swimming?"

Owen shrugged as he went to go jump in the pool. When he surfaced, he said, "It'll get cold up here, rather quickly. I won't get to swim for long. Gotta enjoy it while I can."

She stood there, arms crossed, watching him. "It has been a rather hot summer, hasn't it?"

Owen smiled, wiping his eyes of the chlorine he got in them when dove underwater. Then, when could see clearly again, he just stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Yeah, it has."

* * *

**And done. You guys know the drill by now. The next one will be up soon.**


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